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Ladies and gentlemen, I've called this news conference
to make a short statement about the military action taken by the United
States and the United Kingdom against Iraq. This military action has,
on all of the evidence available to the Australian Government, become
necessary as a result of Iraq's failure to comply with the understanding
that was entered into some weeks ago when Saddam Hussein said that
his regime would allow UN inspectors.
It is plain from a reading of Mr Butler's report to the Secretary-General
that the United States and the United Kingdom have been left with
no alternative. I have examined that report. It is stark and unambiguous.
Not only does it detail the fact that Iraq has refused to honour the
undertakings entered into several weeks ago but, on top of that, Iraq
has, in fact, sought to impose further restrictions and further conditions
on the inspection teams. Now, in those circumstances, regrettable
though it may be, any use of force is always to be regretted and is
always a sad event, I do not believe, and the Australian Government
does not believe, that the United States and the United Kingdom have
been left with any alternative. This has been very much a case of
it being unavoidable and inevitable that if Iraq failed to comply
with the earlier undertakings then some military action to degrade
Iraq's military capacity, particularly in relation to her near
neighbours, would eventuate. And the sequence of events has been very
clear. The Australian Government has been kept informed over past
weeks of developments.
But I say again that if you examine the report of Mr Butler to the
Secretary-General it is clear, it is quite stark and quite unambiguous,
there's been a total failure by Iraq to honour the undertakings
and worse still Iraq has sought to make it even harder for UNSCOM
to inspect sites that may house weapons of mass destruction.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, you say that the United States and the United Kingdom
were left with little choice. What about Australia, what involvement
will we have?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Australia is not involved militarily but naturally as a country
concerned about the activity of Saddam Hussein and a country that
participated in earlier military actions and made forces available
a few months ago in order to support an allied action, naturally we're
asked for a view. And I'm expressing the view of the Australian
Government that we believe the American and British action is justified
and we support that action.
JOURNALIST:
Have you been asked to participate?
PRIME MINISTER:
No.
JOURNALIST:
Will you consider involvement?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we haven't received a request. I don't expect that
we will receive a request. But if we were to receive a request, of
course we would consider it but I do not expect that any request will
be forthcoming.
JOURNALIST:
What's the difference between this time and last time when we
did participate, why are we not being asked this time?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, because, well, the last time is really the one a few weeks ago
where we got very close to a strike and then at the last minute Saddam
said that he would let the inspectors in and, of course, he hasn't
honoured the undertakings. Now, on that particular occasion, for all
the reasons that were obvious then that what was involved was an air
strike, that Australia was not asked. I mean, I'm not going to
sort of debate reasons as to whether we may or may not be asked on
particular occasions. We look at each situation according to the Australian
national interest. Now, the situation on this occasion is very simply
that on the last occasion that we got to the brink, right at the last
moment there was a diplomatic breakthrough and Saddam Hussein indicated
a willingness to allow the inspection teams in and on condition that
they were allowed in and they were allowed access the Americans and
the British suspended any military strike. Now those conditions have
not been fulfilled and it is plain and clear from a reading of the
Butler report that there's been a total failure by Iraq to co-operate.
In those circumstances the situation really reverts to what it was
some weeks ago when Iraq, at the last minute, climbed down.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, have you been contacted directly from the White House
this time?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I haven't. There was really no need on this occasion for
any personal communication between the President and myself. Firstly,
Australian forces are not involved and, secondly and I think more
obviously, the action taken by the Americans and the British became
inevitable once Iraq refused to participate. I mean, obviously we
were informed at an official level in Washington of when the strike
took place but I haven't had any personal contact with the President
nor did I, on this occasion, expect it.
JOURNALIST:
Do you have any concerns that the timing of this attack could erode
America's standing internationally?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I don't. It ought not to erode America's standing internationally.
If you are referring to domestic matters in the United States, I think
they have to be kept quite separate from this. I look at the available
evidence and the available evidence is the manifest refusal of Iraq
to honour the undertakings it gave about inspections. If I were in
any doubt about that then I would have a different view. But the test
of the bona fides of the American and British action is whether Iraq
has complied or not complied with the undertakings given some time
ago and, plainly, from the Butler report - and there's no suggestion
that it's anything other than totally accurate - Iraq has not
complied. Now, in those circumstances, unless you are to roll over
to Saddam and allow him to retain his weapons of mass destruction
and give him an enormous diplomatic and moral victory, not only in
the middle-east but also around the world, plainly you have to take
the action that the Americans and the British have taken. And from
Australia's point of view it's appropriate that I indicate
publicly, as much as we always regret any military action, that we
support the decision.
JOURNALIST:
What future do you think the UN inspection regime now has?
PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST:
What future do you think the United Nations' inspection regime
now has?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think its future must be under an enormous cloud because unless
you get co-operation from Iraq it's very difficult to see it
having any real future. But the ball has been squarely in Saddam Hussein's
court for some weeks now. And we got to the brink before and then
we pulled back because he said he'd let the teams in. The teams
went in and then he reverted to type, and if you read the Butler report,
he went a step further. He actually made it even harder on this occasion
than it had been on earlier occasion. Now, in those circumstances
I don't really know what other action the Americans and the British
could have taken.
JOURNALIST:
Given the gravity of this situation, do you think that the impeachment
process currently underway in the States should be put on hold or
abandoned altogether?
PRIME MINISTER:
That is a matter for the Americans. I don't give gratuitous advice
to the Americans as to how to conduct their domestic politics. I'm
not going to make any comment on that or give any advice. That is
a matter for the congress of the United States and the President of
the United States, not for the Prime Minister of Australia.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible] of this strike?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it was inevitable, Tony, that this was going to happen once
the process broke down. I mean, we knew that.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, no, we were told at the time the strike was launched but I was
also warned last night from our usual sources that it was imminent
because of what had happened. I mean, if you have a situation where
you are about to launch a strike and right at the last minute Iraq
says, well hang on, we'll let the inspection teams in and on
that condition you put the strike into suspense, it follows as a matter
of common sense that if Iraq then reneges on what it has said it's
going to do and, in fact, turns the notch up one it makes it even
harder that once that happens well you are back to where you were
a few weeks ago. I mean, that was plainly obvious to us several days
ago.
JOURNALIST:
In the light of what you have just said about the future of the inspection
regime and Saddam Hussein's recalcitrance...[inaudible]...first,
where do we go from here and secondly, what should the objective of
this action be, just to degrade the weapons or to somehow displace
the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the stated objective is to degrade their military capacity.
I am not going to at this stage speculate further as to what might
happen in relation to Saddam Hussein. I mean, I understand that from
a reading of what the President said in his press conference and also
from what the British Prime Minister have said that their objective
is limited to a degrading of military capacity. I think that is appropriate
at the present time.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, ... the department of Foreign Affairs have issued
a warning to Australians not to travel to Iraq and urge those there
to leave, what information do you have about the number of Australians
who are in Iraq and what if any assistance will the Australian Government
be giving?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we'll give all the assistance that we can through consular
and other means. And there is a very small number of Australians in
Iraq and I understand all the members of the inspection team have
left and, I mean, in these circumstances we'll do everything
we can.
JOURNALIST:
You don't have an embassy in Iraq.
PRIME MINISTER:
No, but we have consular arrangements with another country.
JOURNALIST:
Do we have any other military involvement in this operation, for example,
through our joint facilities?
PRIME MINISTER:
I never comment on the use of the joint facilities.
JOURNALIST:
There are no other military personnel active in the American forces
from Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there are no Australian forces deployed in this operation.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible] contingency plans...?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the Australian defence forces always have a capacity to respond
in these circumstances if the Government think it is appropriate.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look, it would be quite foolish of me to even try and answer
that sort of question. There is no request of Australia for involvement.
I do not anticipate receiving a request for Australian involvement.
I simply make the point, Bernard, that if a request were received
the operational readiness of the ADF is such that we could respond
to that request if the Australian Government thought it were appropriate
to do so. But I do not expect to get that request.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible] undermine western interests?
PRIME MINISTER:
In which region?
JOURNALIST:
In the Middle East.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, you have to look at the merits of what is occurring and the
merits are very plain. The Americans and the British with our support
went to the brink before and pulled back and Saddam Hussein has once
again thumbed his nose at proper process and left them with no alternative.
And in those circumstances you have to argue your case and there will
be mixed reactions from Arab countries as there has been in the past.
But Arab countries have suffered very much at the hands of Saddam
Hussein and I would hope that those countries would keep that in mind.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, what do you think is the long-term solution?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the long-term solution is for him to begin behaving in a tolerably
civilised fashion.
JOURNALIST:
That is extremely unlikely.....
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think it is extremely unlikely.....
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible] to get rid of Saddam Hussein.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look once again I am not...I haven't called this news
conference to start declaring, you know, what happens in detail inside
individual countries. We have been confronted with a clear choice
between rolling over to a dictator who has in his possession weapons
of mass destruction or not. And his behaviour and the behaviour of
his regime has left the rest of the world, particularly the Americans
and the British who are deploying the forces, with no alternative.
And that's why it's appropriate that Australia give her
support.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible] Andrew Peacock?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, yes, I saw him.
JOURNALIST:
Did he brief you on the.....
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I saw him in another circumstance and I will be seeing him in
Sydney on Monday morning.
JOURNALIST:
He didn't brief you at all about what was the upcoming strike?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I was being briefed about it from other sources.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, when did Australia have access to Mr Butler's report
and when did you ...?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I read it this morning and my advisers had access to it earlier,
precisely when I can't tell you, but earlier. Thank you.
[ends]