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

The Leader of the Opposition asked me whether the original decision was wrong. My answer is: no, it was not wrong. I stand by that decision. I will continue to be accountable for that decision in the bar of public opinion in Australia. I have never hidden from the responsibility for the decision that I took back in 2003 and, unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I have always been prepared to tell the Australian people what I believe will be the consequences of certain actions. The Leader of the Opposition is once again avoiding that responsibility. He asked me about guarantees. Nobody can give ironclad guarantees. Of course they cannot, and he knows that. If you want me to venture a view, I do not believe that, under the current administration or, I would hope, under any other administration, whether it be Republican or Democrat, the Americans will embrace a strategy that leads to defeat. That is the basis for my criticism of what the Leader of the Opposition is saying. He is, in effect, advocating a precipitate coalition withdrawal. It is my belief that sensible counsel will prevail in the United States, because a defeat in Iraq for the United States would be more than bad for the war against terrorism; it would be catastrophic. It would lead to not only a bloodbath in Iraq but the destabilisation of Saudi Arabia and Jordan and the end of any real hope of getting a Palestinian peace settlement. It would also embolden the terrorist cause in our part of the world. I say again to the Leader of the Opposition: why doesn’t he have the courage to tell the Australian people what he genuinely believes will be the consequence of a precipitate coalition withdrawal by March 2008?

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