Fed: PM won't be dictated to by terrorists, says govt

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2004
Fed: PM won't be dictated to by terrorists, says govt

CANBERRA, April 27 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard would not be dictated to by terrorists,
the government said, as al-Qaeda condemned his secret trip to Iraq.

Top al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi issued a statement overnight claiming responsibility
for a suicide boat attack on Iraq's Basra oil terminal and condemning Mr Howard, who made
a lightning visit to Baghdad for Anzac Day.

The statement said the wicked Australian prime minister rushed to the site of the boat
attack, in which three US sailors died, to "see what happened to his troops".

A planned visit by Mr Howard to the Australian frigate HMAS Stuart was cancelled when
the ship rushed to rescue Americans wounded in the attack.

Mal Brough, Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, said the government was aware
of the threat of terrorism and the risk involved in Mr Howard travelling to Iraq.

He said this was why the trip was kept so secret, but that the government refused to
be dictated to by terrorists.

"The most important thing to remember here is that we should never, never, wilt in
the face of threats from terrorists," Mr Brough, who accompanied Mr Howard to Iraq, told
the Nine network.

"It doesn't matter who you are in the world, but particularly when you are a significant
leader like the prime minister, trying to placate terrorists by doing what they want is
certainly no recipe for success.

"So the prime minister was right to go and we do recognise there was a threat.

"It's also the reason why we maintained secrecy before we went there so as not (to)
heighten the risk to our troops or obviously to those personnel that were assisting the
prime minster and myself on that visit."

Mr Brough rejected suggestions Mr Howard's visit to Iraq was only about political pointscoring.

He condemned Labor's comments that Australia was not providing peacekeepers or protecting
the Iraqi people and therefore the troops should come home.

"The comments that have been made by the opposition degrading and denigrating the work
that's been done by our troops is both ignorant but also very offensive to the families
that are back here," Mr Brough said.

"They are doing very, very important work in the rebuilding of the security of Iraq."

He said Mr Howard had wanted to visit troops in Iraq for some time and felt there was
no better day than Anzac Day to do so.

"There's is no more significant day in the calendar of this country and particularly
the defence forces, than Anzac Day, and I'd say that not only was he so very pleased to
see and hear firsthand from them but they in turn were very pleased to see their prime
minster," he said.

AAP sm/sp/cjh/br

KEYWORD: IRAQ AUST BROUGH

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.