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Australia slams Obama
11/02/2007 14:04 - (SA)
Sydney - Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Sunday attacked a plan by US presidential candidate Barack Obama to withdraw troops from Iraq, saying it would lead to destabilisation around the world.
Howard, a staunch ally of US President George W Bush who has deployed troops to assist US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, was commenting after the Democratic senator launched his bid for the White House in 2008.
Obama, who is aiming to become the first black American president, has already introduced a bill to withdraw US troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008 and has pledged to withdraw US forces from the country if elected.
Speaking on commercial television, conservative leader Howard said Obama's pledges on Iraq would only give hope to insurgents operating in the war-ravaged country.
"I think he's wrong. I think that will just encourage those who want to completely destabilise and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory," Howard said.
"If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."
Howard, who will stand for re-election this year, said any withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by March 2008 would mean defeat for Washington.
"If America pulls out of Iraq in March 2008 it can only be in circumstances of defeat," Howard said.
"There's no way by March 2008, which is a little over a year from now, everything will have been stabilised so that America can get out."
He said the implications of such a defeat would have global repercussions.
"If America is defeated in Iraq, the hope of ever getting a Palestinian settlement will be gone, there will be enormous conflict between the Shia and the Sunnis throughout the whole of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Jordan will both be destabilised," he said.
"Al-Qaeda will trumpet it as the greatest victory they've ever had, and that will have implications in our region because of the link... between al-Qaeda and JI (Jemaah Islamiyah)."
Howard's conservative coalition government will stand for its fifth term later this year against the opposition Labor Party, which has vowed to bring Australia's troops home from Iraq if they win office.
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