John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to Senator Coonan, the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I refer the minister to General David Petraeus’s Iraq report to the US congress overnight, in which he stated that he had ‘recommended a drawdown of the surge forces from Iraq’ and indicated that ‘force reductions will continue beyond the pre-surge levels of brigade combat teams that we will reach by mid-July 2008’. Given that the US administration is now working on plans to withdraw its forces and that the United Kingdom has clear-cut plans to reduce its forces in southern Iraq, why is the Australian government refusing to plan for any withdrawal? Why is Australia the only country that does not have a withdrawal strategy for its troops in Iraq?

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to 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.

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I refer the minister to Mr Downer’s comments on the AM program this morning, in which he said: ‘Um, I think, you know, we’ll maintain them there, um, for the foreseeable future.’ Can the minister now explain to the Senate what ‘the foreseeable future’ means? Does the government have any idea when it will withdraw troops from Iraq?

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

I thank Senator Faulkner for the supplementary question. I have now said twice—and I will say it a third time so that it is abundantly clear—that Australia is committed to staying in Iraq with our coalition partners until the Iraqi security forces no longer require our support. Any timetable for withdrawal of our troops will be conditional on those matters and certainly will not be calendar based.