Australian Prime Minister, John Howard has told parliament that the 450 troops currently in the troubled country will be used to provide support to Iraqi security forces. They had been providing security to a group of Japanese military engineers and training Iraqi troops in the southern in al- Muthanna province.
Mr Howard says that the new deployment may place Australian soldiers at an increased risk of being killed or injured. “The Iraqi government may call upon the coalition to provide them with backup. This could involve the ADF providing support in areas such as communications, command and control, intelligence and surveillance and, in extreme cases, through direct military action.”
Labor has reacted with concern to the announcement, leader Kim Beazley saying the troops should be withdrawn, “We should have never gone to Iraq in the first place and we should not be there now. Iraq is a quagmire and staying there Mr Speaker is not in our national interest. Make no mistake about it Mr Speaker, we are opposed to the war in Iraq we want these troops in Al Muthanna province home now as the Japanese withdraw.”