500 Australian military leave Iraq combat operations, fulfilling new government's campaign promise. by Bob Nightingale
(libertarian)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
As the war in the Iraq continues, America's allies are diminishing their support. Australian Newspaper The Agereports that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is fulfilling his campaign promise to bring his country's troops home. These troops will not be reassigned to operations in Afghanistan, where there are currently 1,000 Australians serving.
Rudd has been critical of his predecessor for involving Australia in a war that was based on faulty intelligence. Former Prime Minister John Howard sent 2,000 troops in 2003 to support U.S. and British forces as part of the Multinational Force. The Bush Whitehouse rejects claims by Rudd's government that it had abused intelligence to enter Iraq.
On Sunday, Australian troops lowered their flag and withdrew with no reported casualties.
Last October, America's strongest ally in the Multinational Force, Great Britain, had planned to cut support in Iraq down to 2,500, which was about half that country's commitment. However, it still maintains 4,200 in the region, at a cost of about $6.7 billion this year. Of the estimated 160,000 current members of the Multinational Force in Iraq, less than 10,000 consist of non-American personnel.
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