Posted on 12/18/2002 2:17:34 PM PST by knighthawk
CANBERRA, Australia (AP): The Australian government has ordered its defense forces to prepare for a possible war against Iraq, although no decision to send troops has been made, Prime Minister John Howard said Wednesday.
Responding to a newspaper report that Australia is preparing for possible combat in March, Howard said "naturally the defense forces are involved in some contingency arrangements; they must do that in the event that they're called upon.''
The prime minister added that "at a political level'' no decision has been made to be involved.
"The occasion for taking that decision has not as yet arisen and I hope it doesn't arise,'' he said.
A staunch supporter of U.S. President George W. Bush's hardline stance against Baghdad, Howard has not ruled out supporting American forces in a military strike, with or without a United Nations mandate.
Canberra sent 150 Special Air Service commandos to Afghanistan for more than a year and has warships and air force planes deployed in the region. Last month the government said it would bring the commandos home by Christmas, igniting speculation they were being brought back ahead of being sent to Iraq.
Last week, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage hinted after a meeting with Howard in Australia that Canberra would join any U.S.-led strike on Iraq.
"I can't imagine any great endeavor in the world going on without some sort of collaboration between Australia and the United States,'' Armitage told a press conference.
On Wednesday, Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph reported that the Department of Defense had been told to begin preparations for an Australian involvement in an invasion of Iraq led by U.S. and British forces.
Quoting unnamed sources, the report said senior Australian military officers expected Bush to "give the green light'' early next month to begin the final 60-day preparations for a March campaign.
The report said the Australian war plan includes deployment of three warships, a squadron of FA-18 jet fighters, maritime patrol aircraft and one Boeing 707 mid-flight refueling jet.
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