Howard faces overwhelming opposition to war commitment

By GREG ANSLEY in Canberra

Prime Minister John Howard today committed his nation to war despite the overwhelming opposition of most Australians and a united onslaught by rival political parties.

The Government's decision, made after an early-morning phone call from United States President George W. Bush, was announced to stormy scenes in Parliament and to immediate plans for anti-war rallies across Australia.

"Force is the only thing that Saddam Hussein understands," Howard said.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer ordered Iraqi Ambassador Dr Saad Al-Samarai and his staff to leave the country by the end of the week as a "prudent and commonsense measure".

And as critics warned that by going to war the Government had significantly increased the risk of terrorist attack, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade urged all Australians to leave Iraq and withdrew all but essential staff from its embassy in Israel.

Australians were also warned against visiting Israel, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

Howard's announcement and Bush's 48-hour deadline for Saddam Hussein to quit Iraq means that 2000 Australian troops already in the Gulf could be in action within days.

But Howard gave assurances that no further forces would be sent to the Gulf and that troops would remain only for the duration of the war, although Australia would provide significant humanitarian and other aid for the post-war rebuilding of Iraq.

"The Government strongly believes that the decision it has taken [to join the war] is right, is legal, it is directed towards the protection of the national interest, and I ask the Australian community to support it," Howard said.

"We do live in a different world now, a world made more menacing in a quite frightening way by terrorism in a borderless world ...

"The possibility of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists - and the need to take action to prevent that occurring - is one of the very strong motivations for the action the Government has taken."

Howard's speech to the House, in which he sought parliamentary support for the decision formally adopted by the Cabinet after Bush's phone call today, reiterated the case he has been making for war for the past month.

He repeated allegations of connections between Iraq and al Qaeda and the warning that failure to act against Iraq could encourage other rogue states to defy the world and encourage the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

In a bid to stifle claims that Australia was acting illegally, Howard tabled legal opinion from the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Former Labor-era Foreign Affairs Secretary Michael Costello and British Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith.

Against other powerful legal argument, this advice held that by refusing to abide by earlier United Nations resolutions and failing to shed its weapons of mass destruction Iraq had demonstrated it had not accepted the terms of the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire.

"Consequently we have received advice that the ceasefire is not effective and the authorisation for the use of force in Security Council resolution 678 (the legal basis of the 1991 war) is reactivated," Howard said.

But Howard accepted that many Australians would reject involvement in the Gulf and urged that any fury be directed at the Government rather than the military.

"I say to people who disagree, have your beef with the Government, have your beef with me [but] do not have your beef with ... brave, courageous young Australians who will need our support, our prayers, our encouragement and our thoughts," he said.

His statement to Parliament was marked by yells of "murderer" and "lapdog" from the public gallery, frequent interruptions and catcalls from the Opposition that at one stage drowned him out, and the expulsion of three MPs from the House.

Labor leader Simon Crean described Howard as "reckless" and his decision to go to war a mark of "capitulation and subservience".

"This is a Prime Minister who is beholden and answerable only to the US President - not, it would seem, the Australian people," Crean said.

"This is a black day for Australia ... and it's a black day for international co-operation."

Democrats Leader Andrew Bartlett said most Australians would feel sickened by a "gutless" Government following the US into an immoral war, and Greens Senator Bob Brown said Australia would "reap the whirlwind" of the decision.

A Newspoll in the Australian said 76 per cent of Australians opposed war against Iraq without UN sanction, protesters painted "No War" across the Sydney Opera House's largest sail, and anti-war groups launched an internet, TV and radio campaign for mass rallies.

Australia's part

2000 Australian troops are already stationed in the Gulf region. The full commitment will include:

* A squadron of 14 F/A-18 Hornet jet fighters, three C130 Hercules, two P3 Orions, Chinook helicopters.

* The sea transport ship HMAS Kanimbla plus the frigates Anzac and Darwin.

* Special forces comprise an extra SAS squadron, commandos and Navy divers.

* Post-war humanitarian aid and relief.


Herald Feature: Iraq