US general puts his faith in Latham to stay Iraq course

The Australian ^ | August 07, 2004 | Roy Eccleston

[Dundee]

US general puts his faith in Latham to stay Iraq course

Tommy Franks is effusive in his praise of Aussie troops -- and beer and 'beach sheilas', writes Roy Eccleston

THE tough-talking Texan general who planned the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has warned Australia that it risks an increased threat of terrorist attacks if it withdraws troops from Iraq.

"Near-term gain will present incredibly long-term pain," Tommy Franks cautioned in an interview with The Weekend Australian to coincide with the launch this week of his biography, American Soldier, (HarperCollins).

But the man who formerly led the US Central Command said that despite Opposition Leader Mark Latham's policy, he did not believe Australia would withdraw its troops if Labor won government.

"I doubt that your country will pull out of Iraq or the Middle East -- because, sir, the cost is too high," said the general, now retired.

General Franks said the issue most likely to keep him awake at night was concern that the further the world moved from September 11 2001, "the more afraid we will find coalitions".

"The further we get away from something, the easier it is to quit," he said.

While Saddam Hussein had no known links to the September 11 attacks, carried out by al-Qa'ida, General Franks insisted that terrorists now saw weakness in Iraq as evidence that they were winning. "What I'm concerned about is what happens when one doesn't follow through, when one doesn't complete the mission," he said, pointing to a string of US decisions in the past two decades to withdraw forces or not hit back when attacked.

"Nations under pressure of assassinations and kidnappings in Iraq will be hard pressed to send yet another 100 troopers in. "I believe, in the face of international terrorism, the temptation will be to try to gain immediate safety at what I believe will be the cost of peril to our grandchildren."

Spain and The Philippines, which withdrew troops from Iraq, would likely pay the price of more terrorism in future, he suggested.

General Franks revealed in his book he was so confident of Australia's support in Iraq that he told President George W. Bush Canberra could be counted on even if the US made a "unilateral" decision to go to war.

He admitted he almost decided to move to Australia after falling in love with Bondi, beer and "beach sheilas" during an R&R break from the Vietnam War -- but then "I sobered up".

He was effusive in his praise of Australian SAS troops, especially the role of SAS snipers in saving Americans under attack during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan.

"(While) I'm not sure it will ever be fully declassified, (it) literally brings tears to my eyes," he said. "The Aussies brought bravery to a whole new level."

Two big criticisms of General Franks are that he failed to catch Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, and he was too quick to declare the end of major combat in Iraq.

In the interview, General Franks said he couldn't rule out the possibility that another 10,000 US troops could have seen bin Laden caught -- but he dismissed the question as too speculative when there was no certain evidence the terror leader was even there.

And while he would one day be caught or killed, that would not solve the problem.

[Dundee]

He was effusive in his praise of Australian SAS troops, especially the role of SAS snipers in saving Americans under attack during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan.

"(While) I'm not sure it will ever be fully declassified, (it) literally brings tears to my eyes," he said. "The Aussies brought bravery to a whole new level."

I've read the after action report from both the US forces and the SAS as well as spoken to a couple of the SAS blokes involved. I had to keep reminding myself that these guys were human as some of the things they did just seemed beyond what even highly trained soldiers could do.

If they ever declassify it, then the movie of the action would make 'Blackhawk Down' look like a school yard fight.

If I were an Islamofacist intent on doing bad things and I was faced with fighting Anglo-sphere troops, I'd put my RPG down and go home. Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of an ass kicking of that magnitude.

[libertylover]

"The further we get away from something, the easier it is to quit," he said.

The liberals are certainly proving this to be true (as if there was any doubt).

[naturalman1975]

I'd like to think Latham would stay the course if the worst comes to the worst and he wins the election - but the problem is, with the way he's been talking, unless he maintains troop positions at current levels, it's always going to look like a backdown.

When you say you're going to back down, any lowering of numbers looks like a sign you are caving.

The thing is, in an ideal world, we should be able to lower numbers over time - as a natural consequence of the security situation in Iraq improving. Latham has really shot himself in the foot, because he's made it impossible for himself to even carry out normal, militarily appropriate, troop reduction in Iraq if he wins, without it looking like capitualation.