Sydney, Australia – Australian Prime Minister John Howard assured President Bush today that his country’s troops will remain in Iraq at their current level for the foreseeable future.
“Our commitment to Iraq remains,” said Howard, one of Bush’s few remaining staunch war allies, after meetings between the two leaders. “This is not the time for any proposals of a scaling down of Australian forces.”
Bush forcefully defended the troop buildup he ordered at the start of the year: “If I didn’t think we could succeed, I wouldn’t have our troops there.” The president said it was important “that we hang in there with the Iraqis and help them.”
Australia joined in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and still has about 1,600 troops in and around the country, 550 of them in combat roles. Yet the war remains unpopular in Australia, and Howard faces an aggressive challenge in upcoming elections.
Bush was spending much of today with Howard ahead of a 21-nation Asia-Pacific summit later in the week. Bush also was to meet with Australian troops.
As host of the Pacific Rim forum, Howard has put reaching a consensus declaration on climate change and curbing global warming high on the agenda. Bush was expected to push for a new climate-change deal more to his liking and to try to advance his trade agenda, which includes restarting global trade-liberalization talks and seeking a longer-term Asia-Pacific free-trade zone.
Bush returns to Washington this weekend ahead of an expected showdown with war opponents on Capitol Hill.
