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

We do not have any proposal to draw down the forces in Iraq. Unlike the Labor Party, we do not propose to reduce Australia’s forces in Iraq. So far as the Americans are concerned, I would remind the Leader of the Opposition that prior to the surge there were about 130,000 American combat troops in Iraq and the surge has added approximately 30,000 and, as I read Petraeus, he is talking about a possible phase down to the pre-surge levels. I remind the Leader of the Opposition that the force levels that Australia had prior to the surge are exactly the same as the force levels we now have. We think the battle group in southern Iraq is doing good work. We think it is a good thing to provide humanitarian assist-ance. We think it is a good thing to provide training. We think it is a good thing to provide backup security for the local forces. We think it is a bad thing to say to our closest ally in her hour of need in Iraq, ‘We are going to partially walk away from you.’ Because that really is what is happening. I know there are those opposite who tend to denigrate the role of our forces in Iraq. They say—

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