Posted on 03/09/2003 7:05:55 AM PST by knighthawk
PRIME Minister John Howard will use the Bali terror attack to justify Australian soldiers' deaths in Iraq should war go ahead.
Mr Howard will evoke memories of the 88 Australian victims of the Sari Club blast as an example of the deadly risks posed if Iraq aids international terrorists.
"We lost 88 Australians in Bali because of a wilful act of international terrorism and we all had to grapple with that," he said yesterday.
"I will, amongst other things, be asking the Australian people to bear those circumstances in mind if we become involved in military contact with Iraq."
He also told New Zealand TV yesterday that the world must act swiftly to prevent the "ultimate nightmare" of Saddam Hussein handing so-called weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.
Asked how he would explain the first Australian body bags from any war, Mr Howard said: "I think the Australian people will understand that if we are ever engaged in military conflict that casualties could occur."
Mr Howard stressed casualties could occur even during the "most benign of circumstances" as they had Bali.
He said war always posed risk of casualties, which would be reduced for the 2000 Australian troops because they had already been sent to the Middle East.
"One of the advantages of deploying our troops early is that if they are sent into battle they will have been acclimatised and got ready for that conflict," he said.
Mr Howard said the Iraq situation was "the most difficult issue I've had" during his prime ministership.
He refused to speculate about the likely outcome of any war, arguing this would falsely indicate he believed there was no hope of peace.
His comment came as the final ultimatums to Saddam Hussein were set out.
He will be told to satisfy 115 unanswered questions about his weapons of mass destruction this week – or expect war next Monday.
The US and Britain have prepared the lengthy questionnaire over the weekend and attached a strict deadline to force the issue.
Reports from Britain said Saddam would be given until March 17 to answer the questions, also the deadline decided by Britain, Spain and the US for Iraq to remove all of its banned weapons.
The move comes as a frantic diplomacy race between pro-war and anti-war nations reached a crescendo overnight.
While Russia yesterday joined France in threatening to use its veto power to stop an attack, the US and Britain indicated they would ignore the veto if they could win a majority of Security Council votes.
The march to war gathered pace last night as:
- TERRIFIED Iraqi troops, thinking the war had begun, surrendered to British paratroopers;
- SAUDI Arabia announced it would make two key air bases available to the Allied forces;
- UN military observers on the Iraq-Kuwait border said they were withdrawing civilian staff to Kuwait City for their own safety; and
- REPORTS emerged that al-Qaeda was planning attacks on US troops near the Iraqi border.
Unlike the Germans and French who think appeasement of terrorists and tyrants is the way to go.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.