Fed: Iraq war not a disaster: Howard

AAP General News (Australia)
04-24-2006
Fed: Iraq war not a disaster: Howard

By Max Blenkin, Defence Correspondent

CANBERRA, April 24 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard has denied the Iraq war has been
a disaster despite a weekend of carnage and no signs of peace soon in the war-torn nation.

Another 27 civilians died at the weekend across Iraq in terror-related incidents, while
three American servicemen were also killed.

In the United States, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is facing increasing calls
from former generals to be sacked because of his handling of the war.

But Mr Howard said it took Australia years to embrace democracy and Australians could
not expect Iraq to do the same in just a few hundred days.

"I think we impose unreasonable standards," Mr Howard told ABC radio.

"I don't believe the verdict on Iraq is by any means in, and I don't accept that it's
been a disaster."

Mr Howard said the release of a new tape from the al-Qaeda chief served as a reminder
of the evils of terrorism.

"Well, I'd like to see him either in captivity or deceased of course," Mr Howard told
reporters in Nowra, on the NSW South Coast.

"But he's been around now for quite a number of years since the attack in September
of 2001 and I think the important thing is to maintain the fight against terrorism, not
to give up, not to in any way be intimidated by something like that."

Mr Howard said the fact some groups bin Laden referred to had distanced themselves
from him showed he did not represent the decent mainstream of Islam.

"He is a terrorist and an enemy of freedom-loving people, whether they are Christian,
Islamic or some other belief," he said.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he expected the United States to draw down its
troop numbers in Iraq by year's end.

But he said Australia's troop commitments would depend on the training of Iraq's army
and whether it will be in a position to manage its own affairs.

"What you are likely to see from the Americans, subject to something else happening
unexpectedly, is that their troop numbers during the course of this year, I think by the
end of the year ... there'll be fewer American troops in Iraq than there are now," Mr
Downer told ABC radio.

"(But) I wouldn't want to overstate that. There'll still be a large number there.

"That is, the more that the Iraqis can handle the security situation, the less they'll
need our support."

Mr Downer said the Iraqi insurgency would not stop the rise of democracy in the country.

"The terrorists will continue to try to destroy the democracy which has been embraced
by a massively overwhelming majority of Iraqis," he said.

"They want to destroy democracy in Iraq and they want to destroy freedom in Iraq and
they will continue to fight some time yet in order to achieve that."

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KEYWORD: IRAQ AUST NIGHTLEAD

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