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Canberra commits troops to action
By CNN's Grant Holloway in Sydney
CANBERRA, Australia -- The Australian government has agreed to commit troops to likely military action against Iraq following a formal request for support from U.S. President George W. Bush. Prime Minister John Howard told media Tuesday that disarming Iraq was in Australia's best interests and that taking military action now was the right and legal thing to do. "This decision was taken at a cabinet meeting this morning following a further telephone discussion between myself and President Bush, Howard said. "This government has taken a decision which it genuinely believes is in the medium and longer term interests of this country," he said. Howard said the U.S. leader called him at 6 a.m.Tuesday (8 p.m. GMT, 4 p.m. ET, Monday) to request Australian participation in the "coalition of the willing". Australia already has around 2,000 troops stationed in the Persian Gulf, including elite troops, fighter jets, naval warships and other military support equipment. Howard has been one of President Bush's staunchest supporters over Iraq despite considerable public disquiet over the stance. An opinion poll published Tuesday showed 71 percent of voters oppose Australian involvement in military action against Iraq without a mandate from the United Nations, a finding consistent with polls taken over the past few months. The Australian leader acknowledged Tuesday's decision would be unpopular but said the action "has a sound legal basis in the resolutions of the Security Council that have already been passed". He also said Howard said if international forces massed on Iraq's borders were withdrawn, "any semblance of cooperation from Iraq (with weapons inspectors) would disappear." At a media conference Monday Howard said ultimately voters would make a decision on his actions at the next election, but the government's position was based on its assessment of Australia's interests and also in part by Australia's 54-year-old military alliance with the United States. "The American alliance is an important part of it but it's not the dominant part," he said. Also Monday, the government issued new warnings to travelers in the Middle East, advising citizens to leave Iraq, Kuwait and Israel, and to defer non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain. About 50 Australians are thought still to be in Iraq including aid workers and a handful of peace protesters acting as "human shields." The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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