Troops Back Us On Iraq, Says Nelson

The Age

Tuesday September 4, 2007

Michelle Grattan, political editor

THE Howard Government has played the "digger card" - claiming Australia's troops are unhappy with Kevin Rudd's plan to pull them out of Iraq - as the pre-election debate over the war escalates ahead of US President George Bush's arrival in Sydney tonight.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson, just back from Iraq, lamented that the Opposition Leader "won't actually listen to the soldiers who are on the ground - who, by the way, I can tell you want to finish the job".

Leading a broad Government attack on Mr Rudd over his Iraq policy, Dr Nelson told the ABC yesterday that the soldiers were "quite angry about the notion that they would be removed before the job's completed".

Dr Nelson's view was backed by heads of the Australia Defence Association and the Returned Services League. But they also criticised the minister for politicising Australia's troops.

Neil James, executive director of the Australia Defence Association, said: "The diggers on the ground generally have a far better understanding of the situation than the community here.

"What concerns the association is a growing divergence between the opinion of the troops as to the success and worth of the mission and that of the population at home".

But Mr James said that while Dr Nelson's observation was correct - although some individual soldiers might have different views - "it's not necessarily helpful, because it needlessly politicises the military's general viewpoint on the issue".

RSL president Bill Crews said troops should not be politicised. "We hope the Australian community can divorce the political debate about being there (from) the need to support those of our people who are there.

"We don't want them to feel like they are caught up in this, even though the issue will naturally be a political discussion point."

Major-General Crews said he believed most troops would be anxious to see the job finished. "They would be quite anxious to see through the job that they have been involved with for a long time," he said.

Dr Nelson's attack came as Foreign Minister Alexander Downer accused Mr Rudd of going back on an earlier undertaking to consult with the US on withdrawing troops. "Now he's going to make it clear that he doesn't care what President Bush says," he said.

Mr Downer also accused Labor foreign affairs spokesman Robert McClelland of "bagging what our troops have been doing".

Ramping up the US alliance as an issue on the eve of Mr Bush's arrival, Prime Minister John Howard said the essential difference between the Government and Labor was the Coalition believed Australia should stand by a friend in need, when it was not against the national interest to do so.

"There is an on-the-ground, Iraq-specific reason why we keep our forces there," Mr Howard said. "There is also a strong ally, good friend, reason why we keep our forces there. I think it's important for the long-term value of the alliance that when a good friend is under pressure, if it's not against your national interest to do so, you should stand by them, rather than partially walk away from them."

Mr Rudd said the "clear difference" was that "we have a clear-cut plan which is for a staged, negotiated withdrawal strategy . . . Mr Howard has no such plan". Labor says Australia's combat troops - around 570 - would be out by the middle of next year.

Mr Rudd hit back at Dr Nelson, calling him the "least qualified person to be Australia's defence minister".

He referred to the minister's recent remarks linking participation in Iraq to the need for oil and said: "Mr Nelson has no credibility when it comes to national security policy matters."

Mr Rudd welcomed the coming signing of a US-Australia security technology pact, saying, "One of the reasons I support the alliance is that we have access to US intelligence".

Mr Howard said he would discuss with Mr Bush the best assessment he has from the US commander of American forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and other sources about how the troops "surge" is going. "The advice I have is that the surge is making good progress," he said.

As Sydney braced itself for massive protests, Mr Howard again criticised demonstrators, saying the security clampdown was "the fault of people who threaten violence".

Mr Rudd said "any violent protest should be met with the full force of the law".

Greens leader Bob Brown said, "violence is out" although he said the "great (security) wall of Sydney is simply appalling".

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