Australian premier: U.S. more important than U.N. for our security
SYDNEY, Australia: Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday Australia's security alliance with the United States was strategically more important than that with the United Nations in shaping security and foreign policy.
In an interview broadcast Sunday, Howard said he was unmoved by Friday's U.N. Security Council meeting where weapons inspectors gave a relatively favorable accounting of Iraq's recent cooperation.
"It's not more time that's needed, it's a change in attitude,'' Howard told Australia's Channel 7 TV during a stop in Jakarta, where he met with Indonesia's president Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Howard said he was convinced by U.S. and British intelligence reports he'd seen during his visits this week to both London and Washington.
"These things often change at the last minute,'' he said, adding that he remained committed to a peaceful solution. "Peace is a possible outcome if the world community speaks with one voice.''
"But I know that if the world community walks away from this issue, we could well have to confront it in a few years time at an infinitely greater cost.''
Howard also reiterated his commitment to following the United States' lead and called the security alliance between the two countries, "the ultimate guarantee'' in security.
"I have a great respect for the U.N. but I'm unwilling to utterly sublet Australia's foreign and security policy to the U.N.,'' he said.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Australians marched in cities this weekend to protest a possible war in Iraq.
"I don't know that you can measure public opinion just by the number of people who turn up to demonstrations,'' Howard said. "This is not something where you read each opinion poll or you measure the number of people at demonstrations.''
Also Sunday, Australia's defense force chief said Australian troops would have the right to refuse to follow U.S. military orders, citing concerns that they would be ordered to fire on civilians.
Gen. Peter Cosgrove said Saddam Hussein was likely to position his forces behind civilians, using them as human shields.
But he said he would personally support any soldier who refused to fire on a non-military target, the Sun Herald newspaper reported. - AP
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