|
|
| |
Spies' Iraq outlook bleak
October 21, 2006, The Australian
JOHN Howard [Australia's President]has been delivered a bleak intelligence assessment on Iraq which highlights a country gripped by sectarian violence and little improvement in economic conditions since the US-led invasion in 2003.
The considered verdict of the Prime Minister's intelligence advisers is that Iraq's path to democracy is far from assured as the al-Maliki Government struggles to consolidate its authority.
The top-secret analysis provided by intelligence agencies led by the peak assessment agency, the Office of National Assessments, this month shows an increasing risk to coalition forces from sectarian militias and terrorist groups operating inside Iraq.
A key judgment is that Iraq has been clearly used as a recruiting tool for terrorist groups around the globe with the number of jihadis steadily increasing.
The assessment comes as Mr Howard, writing in today's The Weekend Australian, says the nation could still be fighting the global war on terror in 2026.
But the Prime Minister insists Australia faces a bright future although the threat of global terror may not have receded.
"The world could still be fighting the scourge of terrorism in 2026," he writes.
"With terrorism now the predominant threat to international and national security, the protection of Australia, its people and interests will remain a priority for future governments."
Australia's intelligence chiefs judge that the deteriorating security outlook has undermined progress in restoring Iraq's economy and stalled rebuilding of vital infrastructure including power stations and oil refineries.
With Iraq's security forces unable to stem the sectarian violence, the country's leading economic indicators paint a dismal picture of progress since2003.
Electricity generation nationwide is barely at pre-war levels, with Baghdad still receiving power for just six to eight hours aday.
Acute fuel shortages have been caused by attacks on pipelines as well as corruption, with long queues for petrol in the capital still the norm.
US commanders in Iraq are now reviewing military strategy after the failure of a three-month operation to stabilise security inBaghdad.
The top US military spokesman in Iraq, Major General William Caldwell, told reporters on Thursday that the coalition had not met its objective of reducing the level of violence in Baghdad.
With the coalition military under increasing pressure in Iraq, Mr Howard yesterday again rejected suggestions that he was re-positioning government policy on Iraq.
"Our fundamental position has not altered," Mr Howard told ABC radio.
"We think the time to go is when the Iraqis are capable of providing an appropriate level of security.
"The form of democracy in Iraq is a matter for the Iraqis, the relationship between the different regions of Iraq is a matter for the Iraqis."
The Prime Minister repeated his view that a premature coalition pullout would be an enormous victory for the terrorist groups. "We'll go when we believe that conditions are appropriate and reasonable stability will remain and that Iraq has a real prospect of a democratic future," he said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said yesterday the Government's Iraq policy was in "disarray".
He said the admission by former defence chief Peter Cosgrove that the Iraq war had increased the overall terrorist threat further undermined the Prime Minister position.
Mr Rudd said the news that the US was now reviewing its military strategy in Iraq was only further proof of the "mess" that Australia now found itself in.
"John Howard on Iraq has always been a follower; he has never been a leader. As a result Australia has been caught out badly," Mr Rudd said.
|
|
Row function does not exist: metaPage/progRow/.php, displayRow_.
http://zfacts.com/p/540.html | 01/18/12 07:20 GMT
Modified: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 19:47:39 GMT
|
|
