Sydney, Jan 11: Opposition leaders lashed out today at Prime Minister John Howard's surprise decision to send troops to the middle east ahead of a possible war with Iraq, demanding a parliamentary vote on the move.
Howard announced yesterday that Australian forces would probably be sent to areas around Iraq within weeks as part of a massive US-led military build-up for an invasion should Baghdad be deemed in violation of UN disarmament resolutions.
Howard insisted no formal decision had been made to join an eventual invasion force and that his government backed continued UN weapons inspections in an effort to avoid war, but his opponents were unconvinced. "Mr Howard, in doing this, has fundamentally undermined whatever prospects remained for bipartisanship on this country's Iraq policy". Bureau Report