Australian Prime Minister John Howard faced renewed attacks yesterday over his support for the US-led war in Iraq as new evidence emerged that a top weapons expert had warned him that there was nothing to justify invasion.
The Sydney Morning Herald said Bob Mathews, described as Australia's leading expert on weapons of mass destruction, told Howard three days before his announcement that Australia was committing troops to the invasion that the case for war was based on falsehoods.
Mathews, a 35-year veteran of the government's Defense, Science and Technology Organisation, also warned Howard in a letter that support for the war would make Australia a bigger terrorist target.
The Herald said it had obtained a copy of Mathews' letter to How-ard and had been appraised of what one colleague had reportedly described as "disgraceful" treatment of Mathews before and after he sent the letter.
"There are no reasons at the present time to justify supporting a US-led invasion of Iraq," the letter quoted Mathews as telling Howard.
The letter also urged Howard to make a last-ditch effort to persuade the US to abandon war plans.
The report described Mathews' action as a last, desperate act after his superiors repeatedly blocked him from expressing his views.
Mathews wrote to Howard as a private citizen three days before he committed the nation to sending some 2,000 defense personnel to the conflict.
Tough campaign
The report, the latest of a series that alleges Howard was well warned against joining the war in Iraq, comes at a bad time for the government, now in the throes of a tough campaign for the Oct. 9 election.
Howard's enthusiastic support for US President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" in Iraq and the Labor opposition's pledge to pull Australian troops out by Christmas have been a major election issue.
In his televised address to the nation advising of his decision to take Australia into the war in conjuction with the US and other allies, Howard said that the reason "above all others" for joining the war was the threat that was posed by terrorists who had gained possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Clear evidence
The Labor Party moved quickly yesterday to capitalize on the report, saying that it constituted further clear evidence that How-ard had ignored expert advice not to take Australia into the conflict.
"Bob Mathews was right in saying that there were big question marks over the weapons of mass destruction," opposition leader Mark Latham said from Melbourne.
"Mr. Howard ignored that advice in the letter and decided to go in search of weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist," Latham said.
"Mr. Howard said it would make us safer. It hasn't -- he's had it wrong. This is an incompetent government on national security and the letter today and the information today further confirms that point of view," he said.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS