Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Faulkner for the question. The first point is that the testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker states that the current strategy remains the very best hope for the Iraqi people. Senator Faulkner asked about proposed troop withdrawals for Australian troops. I can say unequivocally on behalf of the government that Australia is committed to staying in Iraq with coalition partners until the Iraqi security forces no longer require our support. Any timetable for withdrawal of Australian troops will be conditional and not calendar based. As Ambassador Crocker stated in his testimony, 2007 has brought improvement. He makes the point that the commitment of the Iraqi leaders to work together on hard issues is indeed encouraging. There are pronounced gains at the provincial level. Iraq is starting to make some gains in the economy.

General Petraeus confirmed in his report that the military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met, producing improvements in security. Based on his assessment, he has recommended some draw-downs in the US forces in Iraq. If his recommendations are followed, these draw-downs would reduce the forces of the United States to the pre-surge level of 15 brigade combat teams by mid-July 2008, leaving approximately 130,000 US troops still in Iraq.

But, as both Petraeus and Crocker said, Iraq continues to face many difficulties, as we all know. Much work remains to be done, as there are certainly no easy answers or quick solutions. We have always maintained that premature or precipitate draw-downs would have devastating consequences, so we agree with that assessment. Petraeus said that it is not possible to assess any further force reductions until about mid-March of 2008. He said:

... Iraq has repeatedly shown that projecting too far into the future is not just difficult, it can be misleading and even hazardous.

This is one of a number of US reports on the situation in Iraq. General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will give further testimony to congress this week. President Bush is expected to speak later this week to provide his decisions on US policy and strategy in Iraq. The position of the government is very clear: Australia is committed to staying in Iraq with our coalition partners until the Iraqi security forces no longer require our support.