Posted on 03/16/2005 2:09:41 AM PST by familyop
PRIME Minister John Howard refuses to rule out a further commitment of Australian troops to Iraq in the wake of Italy's surprise decision to withdraw its forces. Italy, with the fourth-biggest coalition force in Iraq, will start withdrawing troops from its 3000-strong contingent by September, amid growing public opposition to the war.
The nation is outraged at the killing of an Italian intelligence agent by US forces in Baghdad 10 days ago.
Australia last month committed an extra 450 soldiers to Iraq, to replace a 1400-strong Dutch force guarding Japanese engineers.
After initial reluctance to send more troops, Australia is believed to have buckled to pleas from Japanese and British leaders.
Labor today demanded a commitment from the Government that Australia would not increase its troop numbers yet again.
Mr Howard said Australia had no current plans to increase numbers in Iraq but he refused to rule out a change in the future.
"We do not have any current plans to increase that number but I cannot rule out some changes in the future and I do not intend to do so," he said.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer claimed it was highly unlikely that Australia would be asked to increase its commitment.
"I wouldn't have thought so," he said.
The decision to replace Dutch forces occurred only after the Dutch made a specific announcement to withdraw their contingent, Mr Downer said,
Italy had only announced it planned to start withdrawing its troops, not the total withdrawal of its forces, he said.
A British military expert meanwhile said Britain would probably be asked to send more troops to Iraq, to fill the void left by the Italian withdrawal.
Charles Heyman, a senior defence analyst for Jane's Information Group, was quoted by the British Press Association news agency as saying the withdrawal would "leave a big hole, there's no doubt about that".
"My gut feeling is that it's going to be hard to find a contingent to replace them," Mr Heyman said.
"I think it's almost impossible for the Americans to produce another 3000 extra troops.
"(Britain is) probably going to be asked to help to fill the gap."
A large number of the Italians were under British control in the southern half of Iraq, and finding replacements would be as much a problem for Britain as for the US, Mr Heyman said.
Many of the Italian troops are based in the town of Nasiriyah within the Multi-National Division South East, which is headed by British forces but has personnel from other nations under its command.
Nasiriyah had been relatively quiet recently but the predominately Shiite Muslim area had the potential to become volatile, Mr Heyman said.
"There's no doubt whatsoever that the embryonic Iraqi security forces are really not capable of controlling the area – they need coalition forces to support them," he said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd raised concerns over the deployment of the 450 Australians, who will be based in Al Muthanna province in southern Iraq.
"A considerable number of Italian troops are deployed at Tallil Airbase, not far from the proposed new Australian deployment," Mr Rudd said.
He questioned how the withdrawal of the Italians would affect the Australian deployment.
Mr Howard said the implications of the change would be assessed.
"Naturally they will be assessed, but let me make it clear that we have taken a decision, properly based on the advice we have received," he said.
Opposition defence spokesman Robert McClelland warned that the Italian decision may be followed by similar announcements from Lithuania and South Korea, which also have big coalition forces.
"In failing to acknowledge the potential security consequences of troop withdrawals by Italy and other countries, the Howard Government is being either strategically inept or again failing to be up-front with the Australian people, Mr McLelland said.
He renewed Labor's call for the Government to provide a mission statement of what it was doing in Iraq.
Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown said the Italian decision showed Australia was misguided and foolish in sending more soldiers to war.
"This is even less Australia's war than it is Italy's war," Senator Brown said.
The Federal Government meanwhile revised its travel warning to Iraq, advising that the inaugural session of the interim Iraqi government, as well as the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, could increase the risk of insurgent attacks.
Australian anti-war protesters are gearing up for another wave of demonstrations as the anniversary approaches, planning to take to the streets in all national capitals and many regional centres at the weekend.
What a joke!....the Italians cave because an Italian communist news reporter says her car was targeted...must be a lot of Muslims in Italy now....
Methinks through the back channel that Italy was asked to leave the coalition in Iraq. They are not team players.
Interesting thought...
Its been over three years since 911. Its been over two years since Iraq was invaded. The US has maintained a shaky coalition of half-hearted allies ever since the War on Terror began. Its time we faced the difficult diplomatic and military decisions of winnowing out recalcitrant allies and solidifying our relationships with partners we can trust. The majority of Italians have never been in agreement with their government, just like the Spanish. Those Italians who backed us put a lot on the line to send troops to Iraq. Let's be thankful for their contribution. And then let's work toward providing for our own security by reallocating military resources for our own benefit. This means pulling out of NATO and the UN and letting the Eurabians handle their own problems. And we'll handle ours.
Oops. Wrong thread!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.