John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

As Australia was an original participant in the military operation against Iraq, it stands to reason that the implications of our withdrawal would be enormous, and I repeat my position that if it is all right for Australia to withdraw why isn’t it all right for the Americans and the British to do the same?

What the Leader of the Opposition has to explain to the Australian people is a policy that would deliver a monumental victory to the terrorists in Iraq and would embolden the terrorists in Indonesia. They would go the length of the Indonesian archipelago saying: ‘We defeated the coalition, including Australia, in Iraq. That is a reason to sign up to Jemaah Islamiah.’ That is the burden that the Leader of the Opposition will carry. The Leader of the Opposition has to explain to the Australian people why it would be safer to deliver a monumental propaganda victory to the terrorists by our withdrawing from Iraq. That is the essence of this issue. The Leader of the Opposition has to justify a policy that would give an enormous boost to the terrorists in Indonesia—an enormous boost to the terrorists everywhere around the world. That is what the Leader of the Opposition—

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