Well Australia is about out of Iraq. Which puts more pressure on the British in the area.
But if Iraq has a Iraqi national security council, can't they use their oil $ to do for them selfs?
I bet they could train their own troops, build the infrastructures they need. If we were gone the graft would have to slow as the people would have only one govt. to blame or except action from, theor own!

Australia ends combat mission in Iraq By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer
10 minutes ago

Australia ends combat mission in Iraq - Yahoo! News

BAGHDAD - Australia ended its combat operations in southern Iraq on Sunday, while the Iraqi government said it has differences with the United States in negotiations over a long-term security agreement.

The official statement by government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh comes amid growing opposition to the deal among Iraqis who see it as a possible violation of Iraq's sovereignty and are worried about an extended presence of American troops.

Talks "are still in their early stages and the Iraqi side has a vision and a draft that is different" from those being presented by U.S. negotiators, al-Dabbagh said.

He was not more specific about the points but insisted the Iraqi government was focused on "fully preserving the sovereignty of Iraq ... and will not accept any article that infringes on this sovereignty and doesn't guarantee the interests of Iraqis."

The spokesman also said it was too early to discuss dates for an agreement and said each stage of negotiations would be presented to the Iraqi national security council.

__________________
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

NEDA The World watched You die For freedom

Yes it has been a success, the violence there is down and the region is now under the security of Iraq forces.

Is that a bad thing?


Yes we are now at the stage of negotiating the withdrawl agreements and furture basing agreements.

Is that a bad thing?

hummm opinion right?
Or have you a seat in the Defense Department, the Oval Office or direct contact with the Generals on the ground in Iraq?

__________________
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

NEDA The World watched You die For freedom

I believe it is called Blow back... But like if either Dem wins the election we will do the same using some of the same reasons.

Australian PM attacks decision to join war in Iraq By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 32 minutes ago

Australian PM attacks decision to join war in Iraq - Yahoo! News

CANBERRA, Australia - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd accused his predecessor of abusing intelligence information to justify entering the Iraq war, saying Monday that the Australian people were misled.

In remarks to parliament on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, which began Sunday, Rudd said the nation must learn from the errors of former Prime Minister John Howard, who sent 2,000 troops to support U.S. and British forces in the 2003 invasion.

"We must learn from Australia's experience in the lead-up to going to war with Iraq and not repeat the same mistakes in the future," Rudd said.

He criticized Howard's government for going to war without accurate information or a full assessment of the consequences.

__________________
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

NEDA The World watched You die For freedom

What intelligence was abused and how were they misled?

No factual as reported in the papers this morning.

Are those bad things?

No factual as reported in the papers this morning.

Look I encluded th elink take it up with the news reporters as I just posted the story I didn't write it.

__________________
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

NEDA The World watched You die For freedom

So how were they misled and what intelligence was abused?

If you are relying on this

"Before the invasion, Howard argued that Saddam Hussein had to be toppled to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. The weapons were not discovered and no definite links were established between Saddam and al-Qaida or other terror networks."

Well all that has been proven to be correct, he had every intention of rebuilding his weapons stocks and continue his research into new and better WMD and the ties between Saddam and terrorist groups is without question since the latest reports.




"Among the study's other notable findings:

In 1993, as Osama bin Laden's fighters battled Americans in Somalia, Saddam Hussein personally ordered the formation of an Iraqi terrorist group to join the battle there.

For more than two decades, the Iraqi regime trained non-Iraqi jihadists in training camps throughout Iraq.

According to a 1993 internal Iraqi intelligence memo, the regime was supporting a secret Islamic Palestinian organization dedicated to "armed jihad against the Americans and Western interests."

In the 1990s, Iraq's military intelligence directorate trained and equipped "Sudanese fighters."

In 1998, the Iraqi regime offered "financial and moral support" to a new group of jihadists in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.

In 2002, the year before the war began, the Iraqi regime hosted in Iraq a series of 13 conferences for non-Iraqi jihadist groups.

That same year, a branch of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) issued hundreds of Iraqi passports for known terrorists.

There is much, much more. Documents reveal that the regime stockpiled bombmaking materials in Iraqi embassies around the world and targeted Western journalists for assassination. In July 2001, an Iraqi Intelligence agent described an al Qaeda affiliate in Bahrain, the Army of Muhammad, as "under the wings of bin Laden." Although the organization "is an offshoot of bin Laden," the fact that it has a different name "can be a way of camouflaging the organization." The agent is told to deal with the al Qaeda group according to "priorities previously established.""

Saddam's Dangerous Friends




And kinda got egg on his face since the Iraqi's have taken over the area now that they have secured it and the job is done. Doesn't have much respect for his own troops and the job they did.