Troop withdrawal from Iraq : Australia-USA Rift?

By the end of May 2008, Australia , a staunch U.S. ally and one of the first countries to commit troops to the Iraq war five years ago, officially ended combat operations there. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was swept into office in November largely on the promise that he would bring home the country's 550 combat troops by the middle of 2008, has said the Iraq deployment has made Australia more of a target for terrorism. However, several hundred other troops will remain in Iraq to act as security and headquarters liaisons and to guard diplomats. Australia will also leave behind two maritime surveillance aircraft and a warship to help patrol oil platforms in the Gulf. But Rudd remains committed to keeping Australia 's 1,000 troops in Afghanistan .

Australia has about 1,500 troops on operations in support of the war, about 550 of whom are employed in combat roles. About 300 troops will remain inside Iraq for logistical and air surveillance duties, as well as guarding Australian diplomats and others in Baghdad . A further 500 soldiers will remain in the region, including 200 sailors aboard the frigate HMAS Stuart in the Persian Gulf . Australia also will leave behind two maritime surveillance aircraft.

As early as in February, the head of Australia 's defense force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, had told a Senate inquiry that the troops were no longer needed in Iraq . The combat troops are expected to return home over the next few weeks. Commenting on the terror "services" rendered by Australian forces in US-led terror war, Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said: "Our soldiers have worked tirelessly to ensure that local people in southern Iraq have the best possible chance to move on from their suffering under Saddam's regime and, as a government we are extremely proud of their service."

Truth?

 There were conflicting news about the withdrawal drama. A spokesman for the governor of Dhi Qar province said the troops had pulled out of the Talil base in Nasiriya on 30 May, with US forces replacing them. But a British military spokesman in the southern city of Basra said the withdrawal was still under way. The pullout announcement comes as polls show that 80 per cent of Australians are against the war in Iraq . Australian troops helped train 33,000 Iraqi army soldiers following the overthrow of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his subsequent murder. They helped train the Iraqis in logistics management, combat service support and counterinsurgency operations. Australia also sent military aircraft and naval vessels to the Gulf to guard Iraq 's offshore oil platforms. The 515-strong troop contingent has mainly trained and supported Iraqi forces in the Dhi Qar province.

The Australian soldiers, as well as 65 army trainers, were stationed at Talil, about 185 miles (300 kilometers) south of Baghdad, and were responsible for providing security training for Iraqi forces, as well as "reconstruction and aid" work. They have been on standby to offer backup to Iraqi forces in the south for the past two years. Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon declared the mission a success, saying it had allowed Iraq 's own security forces to successfully take control.

Meanwhile, violence continued throughout the country. An Iraqi police checkpoint was the target of a suicide bombing west of Baghdad , with at least 13 people killed and 23 injured, police said.

Opposition to withdrawal

Australian Opposition leader Brendan Nelson, of the Liberal party, backed the withdrawal of troops but said he would prefer that some trainers stay behind, to continuing helping "the Iraqis to look after their own security." But another Liberal party politician said the job is not yet done in Iraq .

But, Rudd's predecessor, former Prime Minister John Howard, who lost his eat to Rudd recently mainly over the Iraqi war issue, said he was "baffled" by the decision to withdraw the troops. "If I had been returned at the last election we would not have been bringing (troops) home, we would have been looking at transitioning them from their soon-to-be terminated role to a training role," Howard angrily said.

Howard, who led the country for 11 years and celebrated his friendship with US President George W. Bush, told the newspaper that the decision to send Australian troops to Iraq in 2003 was "very, very, very hard." But he stood by his choice, which he said helped further deepen Australia 's alliance with the United States .

In Sept 2007 then Australian premier Howard asserted his country remained committed to maintaining its military presence in Iraq as a strong indication of Australian support to "our very close ally and friend in the president of the United States ."  Speaking in Sydney with the visiting US president, John Howard said decisions on keeping Australian troops in Iraq would not be "based on any calendar but on conditions on the ground". President Bush was in Sydney to attend the summit of the 21 nation Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC). Bush wanted to seek more troop commitments from the allies. Howard's comments came as the senior US military commander in Iraq hinted that he may recommend a reduction of US troops by March 2008. However, as host of the annual APEC meeting, Howard had put a declaration on climate change high on the summit agenda.

An Observation

It is not very clear if the Australian troops have indeed withdrawn form Iraqi soil at all. But going by the media reports, a part of Australian military forces has been withdrawn. And, of course, a partial withdrawal of Australian forces does not actually indicate any real rift between USA and Australia, though it shows erosion of the strong bond built over decades on the basis of their united "wars" against those whom the capitalist world hates and sought to over through. In some measure they have achieved the goal of ending communist rule globally, terrorizing the Islamic world, and making the third world mere puppet regimes to listen to the music of the US-led West and plan their economies and politics in line with those of the Western powers. Exploitation of natural resources of these countries continues unabated, the latest food crisis is one of the outcomes with serious universal consequences.

If, however, there is in fact a drift in policies of USA and Australia on "terror wars" and other global issues, then, only the future course of actions by Australia will show the exact position of US-Australia relations. After all Australia has not withdrawn the entire corpus of forces from Iraq and they are still fighting the Muslims together in Afghanistan and Iraq . And on Iran , Australia has not made statements contradictory to US position on international affairs. 

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