US Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama Slams Australian PM On Iraq.

White House hopeful Barack Obama rebuked Australian Prime Minister John Howard for "empty rhetoric" on Iraq, hitting out in a foreign policy row with a key US ally only two days into his 2008 campaign.

The Democratic Senator Obama reacted sharply to Howard's comments that his plan to get US troops out of Iraq by March 31 next year would seal a US defeat and be welcomed as a victory by terrorists.

"I think it's flattering that one of George Bush's allies on the other side of the world started attacking me the day after I announced," Obama told reporters in the Midwestern state of Iowa.

"I would also note that we have close to 140,000 troops on the ground now, and my understanding is Mr Howard has deployed 1,400, so if he is (ready) to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq.

"Otherwise it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric."

Howard earlier said Obama's pledges on Iraq were good news only for insurgents operating in the war-ravaged country. "I think he's wrong. I think that will just encourage those who want to completely destabilize and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory," Howard told commercial television.

"If I were running Al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."

Obama has opposed what he terms a "tragic" war in Iraq from the start, and is seeking to leverage the issue to the disadvantage of his rivals for the Democratic ticket like Senator Hillary Clinton who voted in 2002 to authorize Bush to wage war.

Obama also argued that US intelligence estimates had found that the Iraq war had heightened the threat from terrorism and made Americans less safe, and sarcastically suggested that Howard may have better intelligence.

The charismatic senator launched his bid for the White House on Saturday in his home state of Illinois invoking anti-slavery icon Abraham Lincoln and staking a claim to lead a new generation of Americans.

Howard, who will stand for re-election this year, said any withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by March 2008 would mean defeat for Washington. "If America pulls out of Iraq in March 2008 it can only be in circumstances of defeat," Howard said.
"There's no way by March 2008, which is a little over a year from now, everything will have been stabilised so that America can get out."

He said the implications of such a defeat would have global repercussions. "If America is defeated in Iraq, the hope of ever getting a Palestinian settlement will be gone, there will be enormous conflict between the Shia and the Sunnis throughout the whole of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Jordan will both be destabilised," he said.

"Al-Qaeda will trumpet it as the greatest victory they've ever had, and that will have implications in our region because of the link... between al-Qaeda and JI (Jemaah Islamiyah)."

Howard's conservative coalition government will stand for its fifth term later this year against the opposition Labour Party, which has vowed to bring Australia's troops home from Iraq if they win office. (Channel Newsasia)

***** If Obama should win the presidency then the current status of our self-appointed 'deputy sheriff of Asia' may become untenable. Only time will tell what will unfold in the US, Australia and most importantly in Iraq and the Middle East.
Images:
1) Obama - Source
2) Howard - Source

Interesting read: Time for the Deputy Sheriff to turn in his badge?