Labor's Position On Iraq and Regional Security

Speech to Fairfax Community Forum

3rd October 2007

Upon coming to power in March 1996, the Coalition removed reference to Australia being a “good international citizen” as an objective of Australian foreign policy.

This decision has been reflected in the way Australia has disengaged from the international community – with respect to UN resolutions, human rights and driving progressive international agreements.

Under the Howard Government Australia experienced a decade of decline in our global reputation. Significant examples include:

•        refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol;
•         failing to have an industrial relations system that is consistent with International Labour Organisation standards;
•       opposing or abstaining from crucial resolutions on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament;
•        refusing to ratify the UN’s optional protocol on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women because it would monitor our compliance and allow an avenue for complaints when domestic remedies have been exhausted; and
•      failing to ratify the UN optional protocol on torture because it would require international inspections of Australian prisons.

So, instead of running onto the field and engaging – Australia is instead running interference. The world is literally waiting for Australia to run back on to the international playing field – a Rudd Labor Government will make sure we do.

Labor in Government has been an enormously positive contributor to resolving international disputes and driving global discussion to reach agreements - former Labor Government Foreign Minister Gareth Evans’ efforts in driving a lasting resolution to conflict in Cambodia stands as a particularly good example.

Let me discuss some of Labor’s views and the international community’s efforts on matters of special concern to people here today.

 

IRAQ

The following is included in Labor’s National Platform endorsed at the National Conference in April this year:

* ALP National Platform - Paragraph 12

Labor did not support Australia’s involvement in the war in Iraq because military action was not authorised by the United Nations Security Council and because a credible case could not be made that the Iraq war represented a legitimate response to the terrorist attacks by al Qaeda on 11 September under the terms of Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Labor’s position has subsequently been vindicated. None of the objectives given for the war have been met: no weapons of mass destruction were found and the terrorist threat has increased rather than decreased as a result of the invasion. As a result of our involvement in Iraq, Australia is now a greater terrorist target than would have otherwise been the case. Labor has argued consistently that our troops would be better used securing Australia’s interests in our own region, not remaining in Iraq indefinitely.

 

Facts

Iraq is a human and security catastrophe given that:

• according to varying estimates 75,000 and possibly up to 600,000 people are dead;
• approximately 2 million people have been driven out of Iraq;
• one million people have been internally displaced;
• Christian families are being persecuted and brutalised on a daily basis by all factions;
• oil production has been slashed;
• Iran has been emboldened; and
• international terrorism has been made worse.

The Iraq war has cost Australian taxpayers over $2 billion. It has been a massive diversion of security and diplomatic resources from fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and addressing pressing national security challenges in our region.

The 550 strong Overwatch Battle Group based in southern Iraq has not once been called out to back up local Iraqi forces since given this role in mid-2006.

The Battle Group is not fighting Al Qaeda backed terrorists. They are located in the relatively stable Shia south – some 9 hours drive away from the Sunni triangle where Al Qaeda backed terrorists primarily launch attacks.

Australian forces handed over responsibility for security to the Iraqis in Al Muthanna province in July 2006 and responsibility for Dhi Qar province in September 2006. The Japanese army engineers that our combat troops were once tasked to protect withdrew in June 2006.

 

Labor’s argument
The Howard Government have never accepted any responsibility for the ill-conceived invasion of Iraq in 2003 – a decision which has proven to be the greatest national security mistake since Vietnam.

Iraq ultimately requires a political solution not a military one. The Government’s open ended military policy is therefore counter-productive.

An open ended and unconditional commitment applies no pressure on the Iraqi Government to require them to make necessary political compromises, put their house in order and govern in the national interest instead of religious/sectarian interests.

The Government is now in disarray as to the basis of our mission in Iraq.

Their rolling list of reasons for being in Iraq includes:

• non-existent weapons of mass destruction
• regime change
• protecting Japanese army engineers (who have now left Iraq)
• oil security
• A subsequent renunciation of oil security
• defending democracy in the Middle East
• Performing "security overwatch" (despite the fact we’ve never been called out in this role)
• fighting Al Qaeda terrorists (even though our combat troops are located in the Shi’ite south and don’t fight Al Qaeda)

Just yesterday, on a visit to Baghdad, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that 1000 British troops will be home from Iraq by Christmas. Decisions on the British strategy in Iraq and their troop levels, including troop withdrawals, are obviously a matter for the Government in London.

But here we have a responsibility to determine our policy based on Australia's national security interests. And the problem for Australia now is that we are the only country that still does not have a programme for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

The British clearly have a programme for the reduction of their troops from southern Iraq and the handover of Basra province to Iraqi control. President Bush has outlined American plans for the drawdown of US troops based on the mid September recommendations of General David Petraeus.

If you read General Petraeus’ recommendations carefully he makes clear that he is talking about reducing numbers beyond pre-surge levels next year. The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has also made clear that the intention is for withdrawals to continue at a similar pace beyond and below the pre-surge level of 130,000. On 16 September Secretary Gates stated:

"My hope is that when he does his assessment in March, General Petraeus will be able to say he thinks that the pace of the draw-downs can continue at the same rate in the second half of the year as in the first half of the year."

When asked if that would lead to a force level of 100,000 by the end of 2008 Mr Gates stated: "That would be the math."

So when will Mr Howard explain clearly to the Australian people what is his Government’s plan for Australian combat troops in Iraq? The latest news of accelerated British troop withdrawals is particularly significant for Australia because our combat troops in Dhi Qar rely upon the British for vitally important aviation, medical evacuation and artillery support.

Has the Howard Government made enquires as to whether the British withdrawal plans include the removal of these assets that are vital to our troops back-up and safety?

 

Labor’s policy on Iraq
Labor will initiate a phased withdrawal of our troops, in consultation with our US and British allies. This is consistent with the bipartisan recommendations of the US Baker Hamilton report.

This means Labor will withdraw the 550 combat troops in southern Iraq - the Overwatch Battle Group.

The current 6 month troop rotation for the Battle Group is scheduled to end shortly after the forthcoming election in about December 2007. To allow time for responsible consultation with our allies Labor will provide an additional troop rotation taking the deployment through until mid-2008.

We will keep a number of other military assets in Iraq and continue to examine an appropriate timetable for their eventual withdrawal.

Remaining will be:

• the Security Detachment protecting Australian diplomats in Baghdad;
• the Navy frigate in the Persian Gulf which protects oil platforms;
• the Hercules logistics transport aircraft based in the Middle East which also services our operations in Afghanistan; and
• the Orion surveillance aircraft based in the Middle East which also services our operations in Afghanistan.

Labor will also provide ongoing diplomatic, economic and appropriate security assistance to assist in the reconciliation process and help rebuild Iraq.

 

AUSTRALIA AND THE REGION
Facts

• Since 1999 Australia has spent $3 billion on security in East Timor yet the country still suffers from street violence.
• Since 2003 we have spent $1 billion on the RAMSI mission in the Solomon Islands yet relations are at an all time low.
• There have been four coups in Fiji in the last 20 years.
• A ban on Ministerial level dialogue between Australia and Papua New Guinea has seen the relationship deteriorate.
  
• The $800 million Enhanced Cooperation Program with PNG is still not up and running.
• The 2003 Boxing Day tsunami killed 275,000 people and cost an estimated US$9.9 billion.

             

Labor’s argument
Civil unrest and lack of respect for the rule of law in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga and Papua New Guinea shows how unstable our neighbourhood is.

These fragile states don’t just constitute an arc of instability – this is our arc of responsibility. We need to focus our security and foreign policy resources on our region

Australia needs a major revision of strategy for how we deal with fragile states in our region. These fragile states can quickly become economic basket cases, a haven for organised crime, terrorist training or influenced by other countries that don’t share Australia’s interests.

As impressive as our serving men and women are they need to be backed up by better diplomatic and political resources. Using the military as the primary instrument of our foreign policy to address these challenges risks being little more than a short term band-aid solution that temporally covers the underlying problems.

Greater coordination is required between our military and civilian security and government agencies.

 

Labor’s policies for our region
Labor will implement an Asia Pacific Partnership for Development and Security. Through aid the Partnership will:

• address the collapse in primary education and primary healthcare;
• build basic economic infrastructure including roads, telecommunications and clean water;
• address the problem of urban male youth unemployment through targeted public works programs;
• provide microfinance in partnership with volunteer and financial institutions;
• focus on good governance by training regional leaders, public servants and technical experts through enhanced international scholarship programs; and
• provide effective security assistance and capacity building with local police.

Labor will establish an Asia Pacific Centre for Civil Military Cooperation
The Centre will become a centre of excellence in civil-military cooperation for the purposes of long term regional capacity building and governance but also cooperation and coordination of the more short term challenges of regional disaster and emergency response.

Personnel from Australian agencies like the Australian Defence Force, Federal Police, AusAID, Department of Foreign Affairs, Emergency Management Australia, Department of Health and also non-government organisations will be able to participate in the training developed and provided by the Centre.

Officials from counterpart agencies, departments and organisations in neighbouring countries across the Asia Pacific will also be able to participate in the training and exchange of views.

The Centre will research and develop policies for all of these actors to work together, as well as building networks with similar organisations in our region and internationally. Countries like Britain, Japan and the US have all developed similar institutions over the last few years as well as the EU and UN.

Labor will give greater regional support to the United States
We will support the important counter narcotics role of the Joint Inter Agency Task Force West and will permanently place an Australian Federal Police representative to assist the work of the Agency. A permanent AFP representative will facilitate even closer co-ordination with the work of the Agency and Australian law enforcement Agencies.

Labor will also provide a permanent military staff officer to the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies (based in Hawaii) to work more closely with the United States in the important work of security capacity building in our region.

A Labor Government will take a proposal to the next Trilateral Strategic Dialogue with our Japanese and American partners to commission a Trilateral Climate Change and National Security Assessment. The Assessment will identify the major regional security threats raised by global warming. Security agencies from all three countries would participate and the initiative would involve close consultation with countries in the region most exposed to the security risks of global warming.

 

CONCLUSION
If Labor is elected in coming weeks we will immediately initiate a bold foreign policy program to re-establish Australia’s international standing and represent our national interests on the big global issues.

Our foreign policy program reaches far beyond the important but inevitably news headline dominating issue of Iraq. Our foreign policy priorities include:

• climate change;
• nuclear non proliferation and disarmament;
• encouraging the protection of human rights;
• developing an international framework to combat terrorism;
• cracking down on the skyrocketing opium trade in Afghanistan; and
• playing a constructive role in ensuring the rising influence of China does not dislocate regional security structures and practices or cause unnecessary tension with the US.

As much as any other country we have the ability to make our region and the world a more secure, more affluent and fairer place.

The world is literally waiting for Australia to run back onto the international playing field.

By donning the guernsey of a good international citizen we can once again play first grade - and deliver real outcomes that are in our own interests and in the interests of the world community.