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Australia and The Iraq War: Some New Revelations

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By James O’Neill*

On 25 February 2017 the Sydney Morning Herald published an exclusive story they entitled “The Secret Iraq Dossier”.  The news item and a follow up piece in the SMH of 27 February 2017 was based on a Defence Department analysis written by Dr Albert Palazzo from the Directorate of Army Research and Analysis, a military think tank.  The SMH obtained a redacted copy of Dr Palazzo’s report under Freedom of Information legislation.

The analysis was written between 2008 and 2011 and runs to 572 pages.  There has been very little reaction to the Herald’s revelations in the Australian media.  The Defence Ministry itself dismissed the Palazzo Report as “an unofficial history” which only represented the author’s own opinions.  If they differed from those opinions they were careful not to say so.

There has been no comment from the Labour Opposition, perhaps arising out of their own complicity in committing Australia to an illegal war.  That the war was illegal is not open to serious doubt for the reasons the present writer set out in an earlier article published by Pearls and Irritations on 7 January this year. (1)

In that article I wrote the following:

“It is difficult not to conclude that Howard’s statement to Parliament on 18 March 2003 following his telephone conversation with Bush was a political statement designed to bolster what was an untenable decision to commit Australia to yet another foreign war on behalf of the Americans.”

That view has been confirmed by Palazzo’s report.  The report makes abundantly clear that John Howard committed Australia to joining Bush in the invasion of Iraq for the overriding purpose of strengthening Canberra’s ties to Washington.

Palazzo describes Howard’s statements about enforcing UN resolutions, combating global terrorism and contributing to the post-war reconstruction of Iraq as “mandatory rhetoric.”

Howard and then chief of Defence Staff Peter Cosgrove then ensured that Australia’s actual contribution to the Iraq War was designed in such a way as to minimize actual casualties “due to the possible negative effects on the domestic political environment.”

In the event, Australia suffered no fatal casualties, which is more than can be said for the unfortunate Iraqis whose losses from the war and its aftermath now exceed one million fatalities. (2)

Palazzo quotes a number of Australian officers who were clearly frustrated by their inability to make a significant military contribution, and by the “failure of the organisation to inform them of what they were supposed to achieve in Iraq.”

Clearly, Australia’s political leaders did not expect them to achieve anything other than a showing of the flag in such a way as to reassure the Americans as to Australia’s undying fealty to the alliance.  Palazzo notes that having a sustainable combat-capable contingent (which it manifestly was not) was “secondary to the vital requirement of just being there.”

There are a number of lessons to be drawn from Palazzo’s report.  The first is that it is now six years since the report was finished, yet there has been no parliamentary debate about the efficacy of this sham flag waving exercise in actually contributing to Australia’s national security.

Secondly, it reinforces the point that unlike the Dutch and the British, successive Australian governments have refused to conduct a proper inquiry into the circumstances of how Australia became involved in the Iraq War.  Palazzo’s report leads to the inescapable conclusion that exposure to the real reasons, a pathetic attempt to curry favour with Washington, is potentially and hence to be avoided at all costs.

Thirdly, it exposes yet again the willingness of Australia’s political leadership to disregard international law and fight in a remote war on behalf of a foreign power that completely lacked any legitimacy for its actions.  It is impossible to see how Australia’s national security interests are served by such reckless and illegal behaviour.

It is a mistake that has been repeated in Syria.  Should the Americans be stupid enough to get involved in a shooting war with Russia, over Crimea for example, or China over the South China Sea, then there is little doubt on past performances that Australian governments will repeat the same mistake.

The difference with the latter two examples is that Australia is highly unlikely to escape as unscathed as was the case in the Iraq War.

Finally, it should reinforce yet again the urgent need for a mature and intelligent debate about the future direction of Australian foreign and defence policies.  As the Palazzo report makes clear, that maturity and intelligence is sadly lacking at present.

*Barrister at Law and geopolitical analyst.  He may be contacted at joneill@qldbar.asn.au

 

References

  1. Lessons from the Iraq War: A Reappraisal. Pearls and Irritations 7 January 2017
  2. ibid

 

 

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35 COMMENTS

  1. If we consider the Western Alliance as a cult with a definition that is not normally given to the masses but is more usual to small groups of people, this cult has leaders that do rotate as a result of so called democracy, these leaders put up by other small groups called lobbyists and their message to the masses is similar to the call of the Messiah, such as we will be for the forgotten, once in power the forgotten forgets what He was voted in for? and we then have increase military expenditure, the Messiah states more jobs in manufacturing of war machines, the working class having to pay more taxes, same as cults who need more money to stay in business, it is usual for the masses to choose a leader who is authoritarian and remote, the masses could not have a leader who is empathetic other than in slogans, not only are the leaders completely unsuited for the job but the masses now so indoctrinated can have nothing else other than candidates that are rich so the impoverishment of the masses feel secure that they too may one day be the same, as long as delusion lasts all well and good until the next saviour saves them from the previous one, infinitum.

    • I always wonder how the average Australian would behave if a foreign nation decided to send 200,000 troops (based on a fraudulent intelligent report) and blow up essential buildings… blow up the Sydney Harbour bridge. And what if the did a shock and awe on the Sydney Opera House. And if 500,000 Aussies were killed in the process.
      We have NO bl***y idea of what it must’ve been like to have your country destroyed like Iraq was.
      The leaders of the human race are truly insane.

      • Finally, a piece of reality. Dee, you are spot on correct.
        That is the reason, many Australians, (and Americans ) simply turn the other cheek when this butchery goes on.
        “It’s not effecting me, my life goes on, they are all Rag heads anyway, no loss to the World,” and on they go with their daily business.
        Like I said yesterday, such events have a nasty habit of blow back, vis a vis the depleted uranium being spread around the globe as a direct result of such actions.
        People are totally unawares the danger being posed to THEM from breathing this crap, totally oblivious, having no idea of the blow back these events ensure.
        Some time back I read a book about the Japanese bombing of Darwin and the North West of W.A. and the behavior of Australians involved would be down right embarrassing, bloody cowards the lot of them, “bugger the women and children, give me a seat on the next truck”.
        I’d say with the population increase we have today, should our shore line ever again be threatened, we’d see exactly the same behavior, except on a much larger scale.
        That’s why our politicians suck up to the U.S. ( and the general population actually support this ) falsely believing the U.S. would come and do the dirty work, of which Australians would be so totally unprepared and even willing to undertake themselves.

      • Dee, your selection of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House being blown up to cause so much ire is noted.
        May one presume that your selection recognises that there is not much in Melbourne that is worth blowing up? 😕
        Sydney has been there. During WW11 a Japanese submarine crew fired a few shells into Sydney’s Eastern Southern suburbs. So heaps headed for the Blue Mountains to the West.
        Thus we have many of the descendents of the then WW11 refugees now in Malcolm’s electorate.
        Cheap real estate was plentiful after the shells landed. Not so cheap now!

  2. What is it with human beings & ritual obeisance?

    Between 1928 & 1999 WA had a school exemption system for those who preferred to give the gov-controlled package a miss. By the early ’90s the Department was acting as though the respective certification was subject to random obedience testing . Most home-ed parents had enough “maturity & intelligence” to know that said policy had no legal basis whatsoever but only a handful were prepared to acknowledge that paying lip-service to it would cause their kids more long-term damage than simply putting them into school.

  3. I know it feels good to feel bad but let’s try not get carried away with western self-hatred as sown by media, academia and leftist influenced culture. Pointless wars in feigned response to false flags for the benefit of the military-industrial complex are undesirable for numerous reasons, not the least of which is the mass migration blow-back destroying sovereignty and culture presently in Europe. However, as a European nation Australia has a long history of alliance with other European nations and under President Trump, who does NOT favour pointless wars, we could renew our sensible alliance, particularly against ISIS who apparently did not get the same Memo as the leftists that the Crusades were over.

    • Do we really know that the recent migrations to Europe resulted from Blowback?

      I think it is all orchestrated. When I “migrated” to Germany in 2002 (an an exchange student from Adelaide) I had to check in witth Police and was warned not to leave without a By-Your-Leave. So Angela could have kept the same strictness, no?

      Defo on the Mexican border, “illegals” are ushered in, and then this leads to unrest by the natives, well-stoked by some stokesmen.
      Tnansmigrasei rules.

      No nation “had” to surrender sovereignty. Big Daddy makes it all happen. That’s Biggie-biggie Daddy.

      You almost have to admire him.

      • Mary, blowback was mentioned for brevity and certainly the aetiology of recent mass migrations is multi-factorial and not clear cut. The deliberate removal of Gaddafi was probably incidental as he was holding back the tide, but the leftist, multi-kult policies followed by western Euro leaders like Frau Merkel are obviously the preferred policies of the elite would-be globalist rulers, who have these charlatans in their pockets. Clearly we are watching the globalists attempt to realise the Coudenhove-Kalergi Plan before our eyes. The sponsored mass-migrations, anti-hate speech laws and forced “diversity” policies are their modus operandi. See: http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2016/10/the-coudenhove-kalergi-plan-white-genocide-by-design-part-1/
        Richard

  4. Is it possible that we are looking at things myopicaly ? It is said, by many researchers, that wars are also human sacrifice rituals. Often they begin in during the forty day period from approximately 18th March to 1st May apparently known as the season of sacrifice. Winning or loosing is not relevant to Satanists that run the world behind the scenes. Should discussions relating to world events consider a full spectrum of all possible forces at work in order that wet weave a better tapestry of the truth. Should the SMH dictate our thinking?

    • Consider the seemingly magical 6,000,000 lost that keeps popping up since the 1800’s. A ritual observance/fulfilment? Why was it always THAT number?

  5. Trying again.
    James, realisistic report as usual.
    I note we are absent of casualties for Iraq. That was a diplomatic win.
    However, not so with Afghanistan. From recollection, about 45 killed. Plus the injuries and psd. I am familiar with one psd case….. now unemployable.
    Then there were the injuries covered up by subterfuge whilst being treated at Concord Hospital.
    We await a decent leak from the swamp regarding Afghanistan and that poor Johnie was sucked in by the 911 lies claiming that uncle ‘Barry’ did it.
    We await the exposure from the science denialists of our fake msm for the exposure off the 911 false flag.
    Ohumm, I suppose we have to await the next false fllag killings to justify to the public some more international home invasions.

  6. The youth of this land have always been canon fodder for the crown . For the past 103 years our soldiers have been called a defence force when in actuality they are a mercenary attack force for the banksters military industrial complex .Everything has been inverted 180 degrees from the source . It seems 911 was just a continuation , into the 21 century , from the descendants of the war lords of 1913 ( business as usual for the 10% ). Although we have had peace here , think of the misery our soldiers have caused overseas and to them selves .
    We are not the good guys and only have ourselves to blame , we still vote with pencils and now computers (what a sham that is ). Have you noticed how most people in officialdom , these days , look like pure evil . Our system breeds and rewards corruption . It should not be that way . We have ignored the teachings of Jesus and are paying for it dearly economically and spiritually . 6 billion dollars for one jet fighter and 180%
    interest minimum on a thirty year home loan . Lucky country ?

      • Mary ,
        I still find that figure hard to digest , quite a few years after hearing it officially announced on the ABC nightly news .
        Maybe I heard it wrong . But I do recall that number mentioned a few times then , before the media silence soon after . Anyway the jets have been ordered . Each one of the bombs loaded can be 50k plus . I kid you not .

          • 56, You are dead right.
            As an easily impressed 18 year old, I witnessed this hypocrisy at first hand myself.
            Prior to the departure of 6th Battalion R.A.R. from Townsville on it’s second tour of Vietnam, the whole battalion visited the different religious denominations in Townsville.
            Each religious center told us we were doing God’s work and blessed us, to ensure we’d come home safely.
            No mention was made that WE were the ILLEGAL INVADERS who would spend the next 12 months butchering as many of these people as we could get into our gun sights.
            No one mentioned that the Vietnamese were fighting tooth and nail for their AUTONOMY which the League of Nations had denied the, and the U.S. allowed the hand over of the Vietnamese country back to the biggest butchers of that period the French, who embarked on a massive campaign of blood shed, to bring these people to heal.
            Religions and the rest of the World turned a blind eye, just as is done today, to what was happening.
            Frankly, I get sick in my stomach just thinking about what we have wrought upon these beautiful peaceful people, and are STILL DOING TODAY.
            Whilst the perpetrators continue their wars every where.
            Oh, I forgot, a POX on religions of all persuasions.

    • 56, I know it’s hard to get ones head around millions, billions and trillions, let alone quadrillions. The supposed actual cost of the F35 Flying Stealth Brick is around AUD$130 million EACH, from memory.

    • If we ended all security payments the rif raf making a contribution to off set the cost of a plane and to defend us to pay for a house over thirty years? freedom?

  7. Just heard on 7 newsbreak , 17 billion for fighter jets !
    Now how many do we get for that 6 or 60 ?
    This country is broke . Now if only that money was used productively instead of destructively . Why not give people
    30 year loans for 10 or even 5% full rate over that time .
    The reason why is because we are subsidising ( financing ) the war machines . The government has no debt , it is all in the hands of the people . When you see that money is created out of air for some and life draining toils from the 90% it just doesn’t make sense that the majority are made to suffer .

    • 56 & Mary. I was told that the cost of the F35 over their operational lifetime was $105 billion. When at a conference in Canberra recently I put that figure to a person from the finance section of the Dept of Defence. The reaction I got suggested that the figure was correct. No wonder Turnbull was spruiking this piece of junk today at the air show.

      • James thank you .
        So that’s $1,500,000,000 per plane .
        Plus 50 to 100k per bomb .
        This nation is beyond redemption .
        Comparison , a house for a family can still be built for a 100 k .

          • The purchase of the fighter jets from America is a scam to appease the fears of the Australian population, drones are able to bring down fighter jets, her I am not talking drones purchased from your local electronic shops, drones made by military manufacturing, if the cost of one drone say half million dollars? although the cost should be considerable less, if the American jet cost is 800 million dollars? the equivalent cost of drones would be 160 drones at the same cost of a fighter jet, it is doubtful that a fighter jet could withstand a attack of say 29 drones in one hit.
            America must laugh at such folly of those who are in power in Australia, overall Australians are pretty dumb as this simple equation shows.

          • There is something called the public purse. It is always full of money supplied by the taxpayers of today and also those yet unborn. Who has stolen the productivity gains from mechanisation, computerisation and automation. NASA, The fake moon landings? Defense War machines, and Vaccination, and etc. In 2009 just before Christmas ABC radio informed us that the British taxpayers had paid the last of the war debts for the Napoleonic war. Have a guess when unborn Americans will have the war debts from the middle east wars paid. Anyone?

          • David,
            The war debts will be fullly paid up on the day the heads of the bankers who; promoted, financed death and war are used to knock down ten pins in guillotine alley.

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