Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

While I believe the US went into Iraq with good intentions and while the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s murderous regime was certainly welcomed—as were his trial and ultimate sentence—it is obvious that the strategy of trying to turn Iraq into a Western style democracy, and using Iraq as a role model for the rest of the Middle East, has not succeeded. Iraq is a society deeply divided along ethnic and religious lines. The tactics of the Iraqi insurgents, pitting Shiah against Sunni and Kurd against Arab, have unfortunately been all too successful. The members for Ryan and La Trobe should understand that there has been a dramatic turn in American foreign policy—you do not want to be here preaching for the war in Iraq after the American Republican administration has already turned.

I do not pretend to know how the situation in Iraq will play out. Possibly a de facto partition into Shiah, Sunni and Kurdish states along the lines of the settlement in Bosnia under the Dayton Accord is the best option available, but that is a matter for the Iraqi people to determine. Although Mr Baker’s Iraqi study group may recommend a temporary upscaling in deployment of American forces, there will be a phased withdrawal of United States forces. The Australian Labor Party’s attitudes are not a reflection on the competence or courage of the ADF, who have always carried out their tasks with great efficiency and skill, but a reflection on the political wisdom of the events that sent them to Iraq.

I will quote Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican and Bush loyalist, from yesterday’s Washington Post. You guys should be reading this. Senator Hagel said:

There will be no military victory or military solution for Iraq.

The US and its allies cannot police Iraq indefinitely and cannot force the Iraqis to stay in a united Iraqi state if that is not what they want. Our role now should be confined to protecting our embassy, training Iraqi personnel, defending Iraq’s offshore oil assets, as they have asked us to, and helping to train Iraq’s own defence forces.

The most regrettable aspect of the Iraq operation has been that it has made it much more difficult for the United States and its allies to respond effectively to the challenges of North Korea and Iran. It is striking that, of the three states of President Bush’s ‘axis of evil’, Iraq was the only one that did not have weapons of mass destruction. What is now clear is that North Korea has nuclear weapons and that Iran is determined to get them as soon as possible. The political credibility of the Western alliance is so low that no effective response can be made to either of these challenges. This is a very dangerous situation. If we are to believe President Ahmadinejad, the theocratic regime in Tehran has every intention of using its nuclear weapons to destroy Israel and to hasten the coming of the Hidden Imam, the Shiite messiah—a completely irrational approach to politics but something that people in the world have to adjust to.

Those such as the member for Ryan need to reflect on the position that we have got ourselves into. There is a fratricidal civil war in Iraq, which we are unable to stop. We have greatly weakened the political credit of the Western alliance and we have allowed North Korea and Iran to press ahead with the development of weapons of mass destruction. We have also allowed the situation in Afghanistan to deteriorate. I do not think that this is much of a record to boast about.

I will conclude by saying that some of the statements of the President of Iran are truly frightening. The foreign minister of Iran has also said some things that should make people’s hair stand on end. Even the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, praised the fasting people taking part in these rallies. He said:

The world arrogance [the US] ... today are shivering from Muslim vigilance and are on the threshold of annihilation.

That is the threat we should be looking at—what is being said in Iran in trying to adjust the situation in Iraq. (Time expired)

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