Australia, Oil, and the Iraq War

Say this for the Australians — at least they’re willing to admit that their participation in the Iraq war is about oil:

The government has admitted the need to secure oil supplies is a factor in Australia’s continued military involvement in Iraq.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today oil was a factor in Australia’s contribution to the unpopular war, as “energy security” and stability in the Middle East would be crucial to the nation’s future.

Speaking ahead of a key foreign policy speech today by Prime Minister John Howard, Dr Nelson said defence was about protecting the economy as well as physical security, and it was important to support the “prestige” of the US and UK.

“The defence update we’re releasing today sets out many priorities for Australia’s defence and security, and resource security is one of them,” he told ABC radio.

“The entire (Middle East) region is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world.

“Australians and all of us need to think well what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq?”

Nelson’s comments were immediately criticized by Kevin Rudd, the leader of the opposition Labor Party:

When Australia joined the US-led invasion force of Iraq in 2003, the Government said it was primarily because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that could pose a threat to the US and its allies.

“When Mr Howard was asked back in 2003 whether this war had anything to do with oil, Mr Howard said in no way did it have anything to do with oil,” Mr Rudd said. “This Government simply makes it up as it goes along on Iraq.”

Mr Rudd said it had been a mistake to send troops into Iraq in the first place.

“Mr Howard should follow Labor’s lead and have a clear cut exit strategy from Iraq,” he said.

“Australia’s involvement in the Iraq war continues to make Australia a greater terrorism target than we’d otherwise be.”

He said Iraq was now a “magnet, inspiration and training ground for international jihadists”.

“There are many inconvenient truths facing the Howard government, but one of the most inconvenient is the fact that Mr Howard’s decision to participate in the invasion of Iraq is nothing less than the greatest failure of Australia’s national security interests since Vietnam.”

The timing of Nelson’s announcement is curious, given that it comes two weeks after The Australian reported that Howard intends to unveil a plan to withdraw from Iraq not long before the upcoming election, which Labor is expected to win handily:

PRIME Minister John Howard has a secret plan to begin withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq by February, a senior military source has revealed.

And Mr Howard intends to use the plan to ambush Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd at this year’s election.

Mr Rudd has committed Labor to pulling out Australian troops from the increasingly unpopular war, if he wins.

But Mr Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer have both denied any timetable for a pullout.

“We have no plans to do that,” Mr Howard said.

“We are not committed to a timetable in relation to our troops in Iraq.”

But Mr Howard did say: “We are committed to an outcome which is driven by circumstances and events, not by a particular time”.

A well-placed source said the plan is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the top levels of the bureaucracy.

It is understood the plan has not yet been put to the Bush Administration or even gone before the National Security Committee of Cabinet.

“The Government is quietly saying to Defence: ‘We don’t want to get caught in Iraq if it comes unstuck for the Americans’,” another well-placed source said.

“They want to be ready to go, even before the Americans.”

An Australian “October Surprise.” Has Karl Rove defected to Canberra?