Global Policy Forum

Howard's Support of US Defies Public Opinion

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By Barbie Dutter

Antiwar
February 8, 2003

John Howard, Australia's prime minister, flies to Washington today to confirm his place in the coterie of leaders girding for military action against Iraq. Mr Howard's stalwart support of American moves to disarm Saddam Hussein has caused uproar in Australia, where three-quarters of the population opposes going to war without United Nations backing. Critics have accused Mr Howard of being President George W Bush's southern hemisphere surrogate, condemning his decision to deploy 2,000 Australian troops to the Gulf without the mandate of parliament, the public or the UN.

Mr Howard has fractiously maintained that he abhors the prospect of war and hopes his whistle-stop tour next week - taking in talks with Mr Bush, the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, Tony Blair and President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia - will be a mission of peace. But he has acknowledged that his pro-US stance on Iraq is a gamble that has already dented his personal standing and could cost his government dearly.

While much of the pacifist protest has been put down to anti-American sentiment or anxiety over US unilateralism, the vast majority of Australians are clearly not persuaded that their national interest lies in attacking Saddam Hussein. For the first time since Mr Howard's third consecutive election victory in 2001 the opposition Labour Party is surging out of the political sidelines with public opinion filling its sails. In an unprecedented move the Senate passed a no-confidence vote against a serving prime minister, censuring Mr Howard over his handling of the Iraq crisis.

"John Howard has let this nation down," said Senator Bob Brown, the leader of the Australian Greens. "He stands condemned, censured and without the confidence of the house of review, the senate in Australia." Commentators have claimed that Mr Howard is pinning his hopes on a swift, UN-sanctioned liberation of Iraq that will vindicate his position and restore his popularity at the grassroots.

In the meantime, Mr Howard has emphasised the importance of the Australia-US alliance and hinted broadly to parliament that Australia would consider joining an American-led strike even if the UN did not authorise the use of military force.

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FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.