Print

Mail

wiki links

US envoy pressures Australian party over troop pullout

A top US envoy piled pressure on Australia's opposition leader yesterday to reverse a promise to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq if he wins a close-run election expected within months.

US Ambassador to Australia, Tom Schieffer, stopped short of naming Labor leader Mark Latham, having previously been rebuked for interfering in Australian domestic politics, but said now was not the time to pull away from an important bilateral alliance.

His comments come after a barrage of criticism from top US officials of Latham's vow to bring the 850 Australian troops in and around Iraq home by Christmas if he wins power.

The US administration views any early pullout of Australian troops as disastrous and possibly harmful to a decades-old strategic alliance between the close allies.

"The stakes are too high, the risks are too great for us to be comfortable in going our separate ways," Schieffer said in a statement to a parliamentary committee about the relevance of Australia's 53-year-old alliance with the US.

"The safety of all of us depends on the safety of each of us," he said. "This is not a time for us to pull apart. It is a time to pull together."

The future of Australia's troops in Iraq has created a sharp political divide in Australia with Latham wanting the troops home but conservative Prime Minister John Howard set to leave them until their work is finished.
This story has been viewed 1862 times.