Australia to fight alongside US

2.30pm

CANBERRA - Australian troops will fight in a war against Iraq if the United States launches military action, Prime Minister John Howard says.

"This decision was taken at a cabinet meeting this morning following a further telephone discussion between myself and (US) President Bush, he indicating that the final diplomatic attempts...had come to an end," Howard told a news conference on Tuesday.


Australia, a staunch ally of Washington, has already sent a 2,000-strong force, including elite SAS troops, fighter jets and warships, to the Gulf to join a heavy US and British military build-up, but had not previously committed them to a war.

In another move Australia gave all Iraqi embassy staff five days to leave Australia in the wake of the country's decision to commit troops to any US-led war in Iraq.

"The expulsion of staff from the Iraqi embassy will contribute to the security of Australia and Australian forces fighting in Iraq," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in a statement.

Earlier this month Canberra expelled an Iraqi diplomat after accusing him of spying. The expulsion came after the United States asked 60 countries to throw out Iraqis believed to work for Baghdad's intelligence services.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq