FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE
CAMPAIGN FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND DISARMAMENT (CICD)
BRERETON IS RIGHT: AUSTRALIA MUST TAKE TOUGH STANCE AGAINST IRAQ WAR
Australian peace groups today congratulated Laurie Brereton, former ALP
foreign affairs spokesperson and Convenor of the right faction in his
call for a stronger and clearer opposition to war with Iraq.
According to the groups, "It is vital that not only the ALP but all
parties and the government as a whole express clear opposition to the
Bush Administrations drive to war. The Australian government as a whole
should be opposing the war drive in the corridors of the United Nations,
should be denying the use of Australian facilities and ports, and the
use of the 'Joint Facilities' (ie Pine Gap) for Iraq-related activities,
and must take a strong message to our great and powerful ally that they
have embarked on a wrong path that however respectfully, we must oppose."
"The government has adopted the right approach, one based on patient
diplomacy, to North Korea, whose weapons of mass destruction are far
more advanced and far more deadly than anything that Iraq has ever been
rumored to have. Indeed it is increasingly clear that if Iraq ever had
anything they no longer do, and that there is no case at all for
military action."
"As far as the utterly critical issue of weapons of mass destruction
goes, Australia must demand that the nuclear weapons powers first of all
fulfill their clear legal obligations under article VI of the NPT, and
should press them continually to do that. Only then can we press Iraq
and North Korea without complete hypocrisy."
"We draw the attention not only of the ALP, but of the government
itself, to the recent statements against war with Iraq by General
Gration and by the Pope."
In the event that war breaks out, protests will take place in Australian
cities at 5pm on the day it breaks out or on the following day if the
news comes late in the day. (5pm in front of the Town Hall in Sydney,
the State library in Melbourne, and Parliament House in Adelaide.)
Contact:
John Hallam 02-9567-7533 02-9810-2598
Irene Gale AM 08-8364-2291
Pauline Mitchell CICD 03-9555-3076
ALP unity threatened on Iraq
By Steve Lewis, Chief political reporter
07jan03
LABOR unity on a war with Iraq was in danger of crumbling last
night after Laurie Brereton lashed out at his party leaders for
being too timid in taking on the Government.
One month after another former minister, Carmen Lawrence, launched
a stinging attack against her Labor colleagues, Simon Crean faced
further criticism, as Mr Brereton, a senior figure in the party's
Right faction, claimed the ALP had failed to make any dent in the
Government's policy on Iraq.
And the Opposition's former foreign affairs spokes man warned that
the Howard Government was placing Australia at great risk of
further terrorist attacks because of its overt support for George
W. Bush.
In a hard-hitting speech delivered in Sydney last night, Mr
Brereton called for the ALP to distance itself from the
Government's war mongering rhetoric. Risking further rebuke for
his remarks, Mr Brereton told a small audience of ALP
rank-and-file members he had been urging for some months "a
clearer and tougher Labor line against Australian involvement in
an attack on Iraq".
"Time is running out for us to take a clear stand. It is essential
that we do so without further delay," he said.
Mr Brereton, convenor of the NSW Right in the federal
parliamentary caucus, last October earned the ire of Mr Crean and
Labor's foreign affairs spokesman, Kevin Rudd, after he called for
a more robust anti-war position from the ALP.
An unapologetic Mr Brereton has reiterated his call. "Labor should
not support our country's military involvement in a unilateral
attack on Iraq," he said.
"Nor should we support Australian involvement in military action
extending beyond the terms of an explicit UN mandate.
"We should make these positions quite clear and not continue to
hedge our bets."
He also warned Australia faced severe consequences if it joined
the US in its campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.
"While Australia's military commitment to an attack on Iraq will
be very modest, the Government's rhetoric has put us in the front
rank of George Bush's cheer squad."
Last night, acting Opposition Leader Jenny Macklin strongly
rejected her colleague's claims. "Laurie Brereton is wrong.
Labor's position is very clear and has been made time and again,
that we don't want to see war."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Laurie Brereton: Keep us out of Bush's war on Iraq
07jan03
IT'S often observed that Saddam Hussein and Iraq are "unfinished
business" for the Bush administration.
Had it not been for the escalation of violence in Palestine and
the commitment of US military resources in Afghanistan, it's
likely that Washington would already have attempted to overthrow
the Iraqi regime. September 11 delayed a focus on Iraq. But it was
only a temporary delay.
George W. Bush is now determined upon a final settlement of
accounts with Baghdad. Over the weekend he again spoke of
"liberating" Iraq. Short of Hussein going into exile, it appears
war is more likely than not.
Of course, Hussein is an evil dictator, responsible for appalling
war crimes and abuse of human rights. But overthrowing the
government of a sovereign state is an extraordinary undertaking.
And in any case I haven't seen much evidence to suggest that human
rights is a driving element of US or UK policy. Nor is this part
of the war against terrorism.
The truth is, US policy toward Iraq is less about the threat of
weapons of mass destruction than it is about redrawing the
strategic map of the Middle East. "Regime change" is about
installing a pro-American regime in Baghdad. It's about changing
the regime that controls Iraq's oil wealth. It's about putting in
place a regime supportive of the US military presence in the
Middle East.
But the US may also find that it has unleashed events with
unpredictable consequences =D0 especially in the longer term. The US
is already engaged in an open-ended commitment in Afghanistan. The
occupation and reconstruction of Iraq will be a vastly greater
undertaking, with uncertain consequences for the Middle East. The
US may rapidly achieve its immediate military objectives, but
these may prove to be steps into a strategic and political morass.
Where does Australia fit in all this? The short answer is we
shouldn't fit in at all.
Having recently returned from the US, I must say I'm appalled by
the poverty of debate on this issue =D0 both in the media and the
federal parliament. The Howard Government will support whatever
action the US takes. The old phrase "all the way with LBJ" once
again has resonance.
Although Australia's military commitment to an attack on Iraq will
be very modest, the Government's rhetoric has put us in the front
rank of Bush's cheer squad. With this prominence comes increased
risk of future terrorist attacks against Australians overseas and
at home.
Since Bush asserted the right to take unilateral military action
against any perceived threat to his country's inter ests, only the
UK and Australia have declared enthusiastic support. There can be
little doubt that Australia's outspoken identification with the US
and the UK as global policemen has placed us at substantially
greater risk of terrorist attack.
We should be wary that Iraq does not become Australia's new
Vietnam War. A substantial element of the Australian media, led by
Rupert Murdoch's pro-US, pro-war The Australian newspaper, has
failed to ensure effective scrutiny of the Government's gung-ho
diplomacy.
Nor has the Opposition made any real dent in the Government's
stance. This is not to say that we haven't been active. A mass of
press releases has been distributed, doorstops have been delivered
and soundbites uttered. On Sunday our foreign policy spokesman was
again calling on the Government to clarify its position on Iraq's
weapons capabilities.
But the truth is this activity has had little effect =D0 for the
obvious reason that we haven't made it clear where we stand.
It's a matter of record that for some months I've called for a
clearer and tougher Labor line against Australian involvement in
an attack on Iraq. Time is running out for us to take a clear
stand. It is essential that we do so without further delay.
THERE can be no case for military action while UN weapons
inspections continue without impediment. In the event of Iraqi
obstruction of inspections, military action should only follow
explicit authorisation from the Security Council. The ambiguous
warning of "serious consequences" is insufficient.
Labor should not support our country's military involvement in a
unilateral attack on Iraq. Nor should we support Australian
involvement in military action extending beyond the terms of an
explicit UN mandate. We should make these positions quite clear
now and not continue to hedge our bets.
In the event that the UN does authorise military force, Australian
involvement should be limited to our present bilateral
intelligence co-operation with the US. UN endorsement is not a
determining factor in whether Australian troops should be
committed. Nor does our strong alliance oblige Australia to
automatically lend direct support to each and every US military
action.
There is no substitute for an independent assessment of
Australia's strategic and diplomatic interests. There is no
compelling case for Australian troops to fight in Iraq =D0 period.
At a time when many of our party's traditional supporters are
asking what we stand for, this is but one area where we should
speak much more clearly, and in the process differentiate
ourselves from the Howard Government. Labor should do so without
further delay.
Laurie Brereton, Labor's foreign affairs spokesman from 1996 to
2001, spent the past three months in New York as a parliamentary
representative with Australia's delegation to the UN. This is an
edited extract from his address to ALP members in Sydney last
night.
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