Australia

Australia promises aid to Iraq as troops pull out

Article published on the 2008-06-02 Latest update 2008-06-02 11:09 TU

Kevin Rudd.
(File Photo: Reuters)

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised reconstruction assistance to Iraq on Monday, a day after 550 Australian troops began to pull out from a base in Tallil, 300 kilometres south of Baghdad. He spoke to parliament about Australia's position in Iraq, dismissing former PM John Howard's reasoning for going to war as an "abuse of intelligence information."

Rudd deconstructed four points that Howard used to justify Australia's joining the US-led invasion in March 2003: "Have further terrorist attacks been prevented? No, they have not been, as the victims of the Madrid train bombing will attest," he said.

"Has any evidence of a link between weapons of mass destruction and the former Iraqi regime and terrorist been found?” he continued. “Rogue states' such as Iran have not been moderated in the five years since the invasion, and the humanitarian crisis has not abated.”

And he dismissed Howard's reasoning that Australia had to join the 'coalition of the willing' because of their strong alliance with the United States.

Howard was US President George Bush's last major partner of the coalition to remain in office when he was ousted in November. Former UK prime minister Tony Blair, Spain's Jose Maria Aznar and Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski are now all out of office.

A contingent of 110 Australian troops will stay in Iraq to provide security to Australian diplomats, while another 500 troops will remain in the region.