March 17, 2003
Australia also commits troops to the Allied Coalition
Australian troops will go to war
Prime Minister John Howard said cabinet had decided to commit Australian troops already deployed in the Gulf to a war with Iraq following a formal request this morning from President George W Bush.
"The government has authorised the chief of the Australian Defence Force, General (Peter) Cosgrove, to place the Australian forces already deployed in the Gulf region as part of any US-led coalition operation that may take place in the future, directed in accordance with existing authority under UN resolutions to disarm Iraq," Mr Howard told reporters.
The government strongly believes that the decision it has taken is right, it is legal, it is directed towards the protection of the Australian national interest and I ask the Australian community to support it.
Mr Howard said the possible military action was legal under international law because of past resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
[...]But he said the issue was one of morality and not just legality.
"It is also a question of what is right in the international interest and what is right in Australia's interest - we do live in a different world now," he said.
God Bless Australia and PM John Howard!
Ozzies are oustanding soldiers, too--and they're looking for a little payback for the Bali bombing--and they're more than welcome in helping us drain the swamp in Iraq!
[I wish Howard could have been in the Summit in the Azores, but I think the Loony Left at home would have given him too much heat. Plus, I think that the Azores meeting was a EUrope "thang."]
