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As the Australian flag was lowered in southern
"I firmly believe it was the right thing to have done," said Howard, one of Bush’s staunchest supporters in the "coalition of the willing" which invaded
Howard acknowledged, however, that the cost of the war had been "very, very heavy and much greater than anybody would have liked."
The former leader was speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in a rare post-election interview as
Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon told a news conference it was the "right time" to pull the troops out, adding that the military was overstretched by commitments in
Australian commandos were among the first coalition troops to cross into
While the invasion was founded largely on faulty intelligence about
Howard said his decision to enter the war was influenced "partly by the fact that I had been in
"Back in 2001, 2002 through to 2003, it was widely believed in
Before his election defeat, Howard had been Bush’s last major partner in the coalition that once included former prime ministers Tony Blair of
Opinion polls had shown that most Australians opposed the country’s involvement in
Howard said
Former foreign minister Alexander Downer echoed the comment, saying that without its military involvement "
An editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald, however, notes that senior government advisers said they had fully briefed the Howard government on the likely negative long-term consequences of the invasion.
These included the destabilization of the Middle East, protracted hostilities, Iraq becoming a focus for extremists, damage to U.S. prestige and the growth of anti-Western sentiment.
"Of course the costs -- financial, strategic and in terms of human suffering and lost Iraqi and American lives -- have been even higher than predicted," the paper said.
Photo: AFP