Re: [A-List] Australian sub-imperialism: Iraq

[Rob Schaap <rschaap@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Welcome back, Michael.

> Canberra has offered an armoured brigade of about 3000 men, plus tanks, guns
> and helicopters, if the US invades Iraq to achieve the stated goal of George
> W Bush, the president, of "regime change".

We've some mechanised infantry and a coupla dozen Leopard tanks - fine
coveyances in their day, but that was the day of body shirts and
sideburns.  And we'd have to pull out of East Timor and Afghanistan if
we were to come up with 3000 people.  A tsunami of recruitment ads have
hit the telly of late, and the word is it's not going well.

> Australia, along with the UK and Canada, was among the first allied nations
> to provide special forces for the war in Afghanistan. About 150 troopers,
> half the Australian SAS regiment, are involved in the hunt for al Qaeda and
> Taliban fugitives.

Nice to know someone remembers the point of all this, although I'm not
sure Afghanistan is the place to look for them.  Sitting it out in
Kashmir and waiting for the promised development funds not to come and
the better troops to go home, I dare say.  They won't have long to wait.

> Mr Samarai said he could not understand why Canberra was jeopardising more
> than 50 years of friendly relations with Baghdad to support the US.

We have about four battalions and some Led Zeppelin era tankettes.  If
you wanna be part of the great Anglo-Saxon ubervolk initiative with such
paltry clout at your disposal, you gotta be nice to Papa.

> He was puzzled by the "unprovoked hostility" towards Baghdad and warned
> Iraq's patience was limited if no review of Australia's attitude was
> forthcoming.

On latest reports, we're trying to play both sides just now, and seem to
have a contract again.  I suspect Washington has quietly told Canberra
it's all off for the immediate future, and that we shall be allowed to
act as if we're a sovereign state for a little while..

Cheers,
Rob