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Mr John Howard, who committed 2,000 Australian forces to the war in Iraq, initially in the face of strong opposition at home, said Australia would work alongside the US and Britain as a partner in the coalition transitional authority. He stressed that the three states had no "territorial ambitions" in Iraq, saying that the aim was to return power to the Iraqi people. "Our aim is to return authority in Iraq to the Iraqi people in a way that they choose, in the form of an open and free government that they choose," he said at a press conference in Canberra following a meeting of his war cabinet. Australian officials are already working with the Kuwait-based Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs under retired US Army Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, the head of the interim administration. Canberra has said it expects to take responsibility for rebuilding Iraq's agriculture. Mr Howard said Canberra had "a very clear eye to Iraq's long-term future, but also to our own national interests in terms of peace and security and commercial interests".
Thanks again, Australia |