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War highlights trans-Tasman split
By CNN's Grant Holloway
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (CNN) -- The political leaders of Australia and New Zealand are predicting widely differing outcomes for global security from the war in Iraq. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says the war creates a greater risk of terrorism and makes solving the tensions with North Korea more difficult. Across the Tasman Sea which separates the two nations, Australian Prime Minister John Howard disagrees. Despite a new travel warning to Australians in Indonesia, Canberra says it has no intelligence suggesting its citizens are under any greater threat from terrorists now the war has begun. And without taking on Iraq by force, the North Koreans will never be brought to heel, Howard says. Despite close political and military ties in the past, the South Pacific neighbors have gone their separate ways over the issue of Iraq. While Australia has committed around 2,000 troops, navy ships and fighter jets to the U.S.-led campaign, New Zealand has remained independent. Every country faces greater risk due to the international world order becoming unstable because of the Iraqi conflict, Clark told television viewers Monday. "I take the view that anything that further destabilizes international order and causes more terrorism in the end endangers everyone ...Terrorism is indiscriminate to whom it hurts." A day earlier, Howard was telling a media conference in Canberra that while Australia's terror alert was already high, there was no evidence the situation had got worse. "Since the start of operations in Iraq we haven't received any specific intelligence that would warrant a further upgrading or heightening of the terrorist alert," he said. Australasian perspectives on the longer-term implications of the war also vary markedly. "To have two big and powerful countries like the United States and Britain to walk outside the framework... there is going to be lot of soul searching now at the United Nations' Security Council, and within NATO, and within the European Union about what this means for the future," Clark said. "It does set very dangerous precedents. It would now be difficult to find a common international approach to dealing with other political hotspots such as North Korea." Canberra's view on the implications for North Korea? Any weakness shown towards Iraq will serve as encouragement for Pyongyang. Unconvinced"The clear message in relation to Iraq is if we go weak and somehow or other walk away from that and think the problem will solve itself, that will further embolden North Korea," the Australian leader said earlier this month. "I believe very strongly that one of the reasons why North Korea has behaved as she has, is she has watched the disarray of the world in dealing with Iraq." The two leaders cannot even agree on the progress of the war so far. On Sunday Howard declared: "There has been a great deal of progress made on the ground already. The signs of capitulation by elements of the Iraqi armed forces are encouraging." Clark remains unconvinced. "I don't think it (the U.S.-led action) is making any dent at all. Clearly this war is going to be prosecuted to the bitter end," she said Monday, adding that none of the weekend's events had caused her to doubt New Zealand was best out of the war.
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