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australia

With troops in the thick of the action, some Australians are just wondering how they ended up there. After avoiding the question for months about whether Australia would go into Iraq without UN support, troops were predeployed in or near Iraq in late January, 2003.

In an update to the 2000 National Security white paper released about the same time, the country's relationship with the United States is described as 'a national asset.' The paper asserts that partly because of the United States' strategic dominance, the threat of invasion has lessened in the last three years. The main worries now are rogue states with weapons of mass destruction, and terrorists.

But there are other reasons for Australia's historic relationship with the U.S. Australian MP Tony Abbott identifies these as, "language, heritage and history."

Related:

PEOPLE
	John Howard	" After a phone call from United States President George W Bush, Prime Minister John Howard expressed support for US-led military action against Iraq but said the United Nations should approve any intervention. " The Bulletin, September 11, 2002
COMMENTATORS
ISSUES
	US-AU alliance	They don't like mateship, mate " In a significant recasting of its approach to international relations to reflect the new security environment, the foreign affairs and trade white paper, released yesterday, also ranked the United States as Australia's most important strategic ally... Heavily focused on security issues, the white paper said Australians are terrorist targets because of the "values we represent", including tolerance, perseverance, mateship and a commitment to economic and political freedoms." Tom Allard, Sydney Morning Herald, February 13, 2003
	International Law	"Australia once had a reputation as a strong supporter of the UN and the rule of international law. Since the election of the Howard Government we have become instead a leading player in the attempt to weaken several UN conventions and have become the only Western government, other than the US, that has refused to sign the Kyoto protocol. Our policy over Iraq is best understood as part of this more general retreat from internationalism." Robert Manne March 17, 2003
	Iraqi Oil	" Australia also has an important stake in the stability of the Middle East. An Iraq with the capability to menace the region with weapons of mass destruction would be destabilising and would have major economic consequences for the world and for Australia, given the vital role that secure supplies of Middle Eastern oil play in the global economy." Alexander Downer, speech to parliament, September 12, 2002 at Australianpolitics.com
	weapons purchase	$309M spent on weapons in mid 2002 "These projects deliver on the Government’s White Paper commitments to provide our land forces with sufficient firepower, protection and mobility to provide clear advantage in any likely operations in defence of Australia or in our immediate region," Senator Hill said. news September 2002
	australian deployment	According to Defence Minister Robert Hill, the predeployment without debate during the parliament summer holidays, was not in order to go to war, but to, "put pressure on Saddam Hussein in the hope of avoiding that armed response." press conference January 22, 2003
	media	"In Australia the best-selling newspaper in every major capital, other than Perth, is owned by Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch is not only an enthusiast for the Anglo-American policy on Iraq, he has explicitly mobilised his empire in its support. Of the 175 newspapers he owns, all but one have followed Bush and Blair towards war...Last week I read the editorials and the leading columnists of the Murdoch stable in Australia. The overwhelming impression was of propagandistic repetitiveness and great intellectual crudity." Robert Manne March 17, 2003
	seaswap	WA a pitstop for U.S. ships " The Seaswap program began in early January with the return of the world’s largest warship, USS Abraham Lincoln, and the USS Fletcher to WA waters. The Commander of the US Navy’s surface forces, Vice-Admiral Timothy LaFleur, praised WA for its support in this “long, long war.” Stating that, “WA had a strategic role in US military operations – by allowing the US to keep battle-ready ships in the region”. The Paper Edition 42, February 2003
	seaswap	"The sea swap agreement demonstrates Australia's support for a principal ally and friend," Senator Hill said. Press Relaease October 24, 2002 [RTF file]
	seaswap	Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Canberra, Michael Owens quoted: " "Perth has been a very important factor in our ability to be present in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean," he said..."It makes an enormous difference to the US Navy to have the kind of hospitality our sailors receive here."... USS Fletcher is due to arrive in Fremantle tomorrow to begin Australia's controversial Seaswap program with the US... "I think it is clear that Americans are targets and Australians are targets. We had September 11, you had October 12," he said." West Australian, January 18, 2003 (at Google)
	US - sole superpower	" While strategic competition between nations has not gone away, major power relations have generally become more stable. The combination of US military and economic might and converging national priorities in eliminating terrorism have increased the focus of the major powers on cooperating to advance shared interests... Washington's strong international posture since September 2001 is evoking popular anti-Americanism, and not just in Muslim countries. So far, hostility is more a complication in US management of international relations than a major limitation on US primacy. Even if broad international support for the US declines, this will not prevent Washington pursuing a purposeful agenda against serious terrorist, WMD or other threats... Australia and the US continue to share many values and interests, and we jointly benefit from, and contribute towards, global stability and prosperity. Australia's defence capability is enhanced through access to US information and technology. Our relationship with the United States remains a national asset. The United States' current political, economic, and military dominance adds further weight to the alliance relationship. The alliance increases Australia's ability to contribute effectively to coalition operations." Ministry of Defence 2003 National Security update section 3.
	war on terror	"A critical strategic and security dimension for Australia is that militant extremists in Southeast Asia are prepared to take up the Al Qaida cause and that Australia has been identified as a target." Ministry of Defence 2003 National Security update section 4.
	US-AU alliance	Defence savings " Thanks to the [US - Australia] alliance, any potential aggressor is on notice that Australia does not stand alone. Without the near-certainty of American support, providing a credible defence of Australia would cost, Kim Beazley once reckoned, an additional 1 per cent of GDP (11), today an extra $7 billion a year. America, for its part, has an ally which can be trusted not to give gratuitous public advice and not to desert at key moments but to temper enthusiasm with prudence." Tony Abbott, February 21, 2003 Australian Minister of Employment and Workplace Relations
	US-AU alliance	" To call Australia’s relationship with America a mere "alliance" is to miss the point. It is a visceral attraction based on affinities of language, heritage and history reinforced by millions of human contacts. These range from the Australian coast-watcher who reported the sinking of President Kennedy’s PT109 to the 200,000 Australians now living in America – including the President of the World Bank, the Chief Executive of Coca-Cola, the Chief Operating Officer of McDonalds and the Editor of the New York Post as well as Rupert Murdoch... There’s every reason to believe that when Americans think of Australians, the warmth is reciprocated – more so, perhaps, because they have less occasion than we do to be judgmental. There’s a dwindling sense of "otherness" in the way Australians and Americans think about each other, for all our different national instincts on guns, school prayer and the death penalty." Tony Abbott, February 21, 2003 Australian Minister of Employment and Workplace Relations
	Asia	Asia means immigrants? " ...traditional bonds of kinship with Britain and America have not inhibited the affirmation of respect for the countries and peoples of Asia represented by Australia’s immigration programme. The English-speaking countries have a natural rapport with each other but also a unique propensity to attract and welcome the peoples of other cultures." Tony Abbott, February 21, 2003 Australian Minister of Employment and Workplace Relations

External links:
www.gov.au

australia's national security 2003 - Ministry of Defence's update to 2000 white paper.

PM John Howard profile in the Independent

Australia US Free Trade Agreement - report

seaswap protest site