Didn't anyone tell him?

Poor John Howard. Apparently no one else informed him that the appropriate role for countries other than the U.S. and Britain in Iraq is to offer a golf clap for the elections, mouth vague statements about how important stability in the country is, and then seek ways to avoid any sort of commitment.

It's like he's more interested in helping Iraq than trying to walk the fine line of compromise between a reluctant populace and a powerful ally. What's he THINKING?

Mr Howard says Iraq is at a "tilting point" after the country's landmark elections and Australia will send an extra 450 soldiers to what he describes as a "reasonably violence-free" area of southern Iraq.

The soldiers will mostly come from Darwin's 1st Brigade will leave in about 10 weeks. They will train Iraqi forces and provide security for Japanese troops involved in the humanitarian effort.

Mr Howard says the extra soldiers will replace a withdrawing Dutch contingent.

"Unless additional security could be provided to replace the Dutch, then there was a real possibility the Japanese could no longer remain there and that would be a serious blow to the coalition effort," Mr Howard said.

Iraq
Coalition
Australia