Australia's opposition Labor Party reaffirmed yesterday that it would pull the country's 850 troops out of Iraq "by Christmas" if it deposed Prime Minister John Howard's coalition government at an election to be called later this year.
The reaffirmation came after US President George W. Bush declared at a joint Washington press conference with Howard that it would be "disastrous" if Australian troops quit Iraq.
Bush, flanked by Howard, excoriated the Labor plan, saying it would crush the spirits of Iraqis and embolden the enemy.
In a statement, Labor leader Mark Latham reiterated his view that Australia should not have joined the "coalition of the willing" and should now withdraw from Iraq.
"The war in Iraq and instability in the Middle East have contributed to record-high petrol prices that are now hurting Australian motorists," Latham said. "In these circumstances, the best role Australia can play in Iraq is through humanitarian, economic and civilian aid -- not a long term military role."
In what some Australian politicians regarded as an unprecedented intervention in domestic politics, Bush had said: "It would be a disastrous decision for the leader of a great country like Australia to say that `we're pulling out.'
"It would dispirit those who love freedom in Iraq. It would say that the Australian government doesn't see the hope of a free and democratic society leading to a peaceful world," Bush said.
Greens leader Bob Brown admonished Bush for meddling in domestic politics.
"President Bush should pull his head in," Brown said. "This is Australia -- it's not Florida or Alaska or Texas."
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