Australia Ends Combat Operations In Iraq
Related: “Ashamed To Wear Their Uniforms”
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Australia, a staunch U.S. ally and one of the first countries to commit troops to the Iraq war five years ago, ended combat operations there Sunday, a Defense Department official said.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was swept into office in November largely on the promise that he would bring home the country’s 550 combat troops by the middle of 2008.
Rudd has said the Iraq deployment has made Australia more of a target for terrorism.
The combat troops are expected to return home over the next few weeks. Local media reports said the first of the soldiers had already landed in Australia on Sunday afternoon.
Several hundred other troops will remain in Iraq to act as security and headquarters liaisons and to guard diplomats. Australia will also leave behind two maritime surveillance aircraft and a warship to help patrol oil platforms in the Gulf.
The troops on Sunday held a ceremony that included lowering the Australian flag from its position over Camp Terendak in the southern Iraq city of Talil, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as required by the Defense Department.
The soldiers, as well as 65 army trainers, were stationed at Talil, about 185 miles south of Baghdad, and were responsible for providing security training for Iraqi forces, as well as reconstruction and aid work. They have been on standby to offer backup to Iraqi forces in the south for the past two years.
In February, the head of Australia’s defense force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, told a Senate inquiry that the troops were no longer needed in Iraq.
Rudd remains committed to keeping Australia’s 1,000 troops in Afghanistan.
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“Rudd has said the Iraq deployment has made Australia more of a target for terrorism.”
Wow. That’s a really assinine statement. Terrorists have been killing people long before the Iraq War. If you parse his sentence, notice he states that the deployment has made Australia MORE of a target for terrorism. So that means Australia WAS/IS a target of terrorism regardless of the deployment.
So, I guess that, rather than try to fight terrorists on foreign soil and/or end the ability of terrorists, he’s content on withdrawing troops and making his country just slightly susceptible to terrorism. That makes sense….
June 1st, 2008 at 6:25 amWeakness in the face of opposition emboldens only your enemies there Mr Rudd. Being a pussy makes AQ smile and makes you look conquered.
In celebration of this event, Aussies should stop addressing you as Mr Rudd; and instead start addressing you by your new name…boy..
Oh boy…go fetch some water for Bin Laden.
June 1st, 2008 at 6:27 amThat is a disgraceful attitude. Being in Iraq is making Australia more of a target. these people will attack you because of your culture, because you’re not already dominated by Islam and Sharia law. its pretty damn stupid that people dont realize that yet.
its not what we did, its who we are that they hate
June 1st, 2008 at 6:39 amHey Rudd you stupid fucking whore politician:
October 2002 88 Australians were blown up in Bali.
March 2003 Australia joins the coalition in Iraq.
It is clear now, Australia has now chosen to be islam’s bitch.
What say the American public this November?
June 1st, 2008 at 6:49 am“Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was swept into office in November largely on the promise that he would bring home the country’s 550 combat troops by the middle of 2008.”
Oh, AP. Why do you lie so? I don’t know anybody who’d vote Labor for that reason who wouldn’t already be voting Labor anyway. Iraq wasn’t even being discussed on the news or, from what I saw, in public. What the public were pissed off about was the new harsh Workplace Relations Act that Labor ran a scare campaign about.
The unfortunate side effect is the we now have socialist Rudd who thinks he has a mandate to stop using our massive coal resources and to stop combat operations in Iraq. Not that the latter particularly matters that much in the grand scheme of things. Not including the SAS, the Australian combat presence was more or less a token presence that was sitting in the Green Zone instead of being let out to fight. Beyond the loss of the public perception of support, their removal won’t matter that much.
Thankfully, Australia’s aeriel reconnaissance operations will be continuing and frankly, that is the most valuable thing we were doing over there anyway.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:26 amThis makes me sad that one of the few Anglo-White nations of the world, with balls most of the time; has decided to quit the fight against those who want to cut the throats of your children.
June 1st, 2008 at 3:26 pmSeems like we’ll have to protect your apparently sorry-ass again, just like we did in WW2.
I know it isn’t the Aussie military or its’ people; it can only be the chicken-shit politicians of the nation that make such destructive decisions.