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| Down Under |
| Australian troops to leave Iraq by mid-2008: Rudd |
| 2007-11-30 |
| Australian prime minister-elect Kevin Rudd said Friday he would pull the country's 550 combat troops out of Iraq by the middle of next year, marking a significant shift in Canberra's role in the conflict. Rudd was elected in a landslide on Saturday that ousted veteran conservative prime minister John Howard, a staunch supporter of the US-led war in Iraq and a friend of US President George W. Bush. Former diplomat Rudd had promised to withdraw the battle group from Talil in southern Iraq if elected but said he would leave behind some Australian soldiers, including those providing security at Australia's embassy in Baghdad. "The combat force in Iraq, we would have home by around about the middle of next year," Rudd told a Melbourne radio station. "We've not begun our discussions with the United States on that. We'll have a meeting with the United States ambassador before too long to set up the appropriate processes for discussing that." Australia has some 1,500 troops involved in Iraqi operations, although most are outside the country. Only the 550 combat troops deployed in the south of the war-torn nation are subject to Rudd's withdrawal plan. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #6 We're downsizing our troop presence there. I think it's only fair that Australia rest their troops, too, before the next push. Mid-2008 isn't anything like a precipitous pull-out. Thank you, Diggers, for all you've done, and all you've yet to do to help keep the world safe for civilization. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-11-30 16:30 |
| #5 It should be said: The country has not changed, nor have the Australian people. But the Howard Government's 12 years in power exhausted the attention span of enough voters to make the change. These things happen. Life goes on. And the Rudd Government should not have the Senate majority needed to force through the worst of its legislative ambitions. Already Unions are starting to throw their weight around. This will start to wear thin before long. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2007-11-30 14:00 |
| #4 Foreshadowing. Think President Obama.... brrrr |
| Posted by: Gleaque de Medici6916 2007-11-30 11:29 |
| #3 Buyers remorse started kicking in as Rudd made his acceptance speech. This government could be as chaotic and brainless as Whitlam's. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2007-11-30 10:36 |
| #2 Amateur hour. This is sad. The Aussies used to be the only country the US could depend on. Now maybe we need to look at the Poles instead. They say that in democracies voters deserve the governments they get. It will be interesting to see what the Aussies think of their new government in a year or two. |
| Posted by: RWV 2007-11-30 10:30 |
| #1 And so it begins. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-11-30 09:28 |