Criticism of Obama by Australian prime minister defended
by Chad Groening and Jody Brown
February 14, 2007
(OneNewsNow.com) - - An Australian defense analyst says his country's prime minister had every right to criticize U.S. presidential candidate, Sen. Barak Obama (D-Ill.) for advocating a specific date to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq. Prime Minister John Howard is refusing to back down in response to criticism for his comments, saying it is contrary to his country's security interests for America to be defeated in the war on terror. When he kicked off his campaign in Springfield, Illinois, Obama said one of his first priorities would be to end the war in Iraq. And the Illinois senator has introduced a bill setting a date of March 30, 2008, to remove all U.S. combat troops from the country. Australian Prime Minister John Howard reacted by saying such a move would encourage al Qaeda leaders to hang on and "be praying as many times as possible" for an Obama victory.
Criticized in Australia for his comments, Howard has refused to retract his statements. "I hold the strongest possible view that it is contrary to the security interests of this country for America to be defeated in Iraq," he tells Associated Press. "Let me make it perfectly clear: if I hear a policy being advocated that is contrary to Australia's security interests, I will criticize it."
For his part, Obama has stated he was flattered that one of President Bush's close allies had criticized him. In addition, he has challenged Howard to back up his commitment to the war in Iraq by upping the number of Australian troops there, which currently stands at about 1,400 -- roughly one-tenth of the number of U.S. troops assigned to the area.
Greg Copley is president of the International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), a Washington, DC-based non-governmental organization (NGO) involved in national and international security and strategic policy. Copley says the war against terror is not just America's fight.
"For Barack Obama and for even some of the Republican senators to say that this is a domestic political debate and that Howard should butt out -- [that's] outrageous," he says, "given the fact that Australia, like 28 or so other coalition partners, [is] putting the lives of their troops on the line to support U.S. policy."
Those countries, Copley asserts, "have a right to participate in the debate because they have been asked and they have agreed to support U.S. policy there in what they say is a vital defense of Western interests."
The ISSA president says Obama and other critics are not considering the strategic consequences for the U.S. when they seek merely to score political points at home, in hope of winning office. Copley also is critical of Texas Senator John Cornyn and other Republicans who have told the Australian prime minister to stay out of U.S. politics.
