It is "premature to discuss any (participation in) post-war occupation of Iraq," says Hill

SYDNEY, December 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Australia’s military authorities announced that they will "resist any requests from the United States or the United Nations to take part in peace-keeping operations in either postwar Iraq or Afghanistan", an Australian newspaper reported Saturday, December 21.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted senior Australian military officials speaking saying that "Australia's role in both conflicts should be to provide specialist forces like the SAS, aerial surveillance and naval support rather than post-conflict peace keeping."

Last week, a senior Pentagon official told the Herald that  Australia would almost certainly be asked, either by the U.N. or the coalition, to contribute to a post-war occupation force in  Iraq if the war goes ahead with a U.S.-led coalition, the paper reported.

It added that the Pentagon’s official remarks came after the  U.S. and  Afghanistan sent a request to  Australia to take part in peace-keeping operations in  Afghanistan .

According to the Herald, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill said his country "was considering the request but it was premature to discuss any post-war occupation of  Iraq ."

The paper added that after the  Bali bombings, "Australians are divided over whether the country's military, intelligence and diplomatic effort should be directed at combating the terrorist threat in its own region."

On December 1, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that a final decision whether  Australia will join a U.S.-led attack on  Iraq will be made by the government and debated by the parliament afterwards.

"The decision is one for the executive government," Howard told Channel Nine.

"But I have said, as my predecessors have said, if we take the decision to commit forces, we would have a parliamentary debate and I would want to have a parliamentary debate quickly if there were any decision."

The Labor opposition expressed disappointment on hearing parliament would debate the issue after a decision was made and not before.

The Herald added that "Australia has boosted its presence at the U.S. Central Command in Florida, the military headquarters for the war theaters in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East" and that "Australian officers are being given an unusual level of access to the military thinking on Iraq."