Sidewinder 42
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Australian PM's address to the nation re:War With Iraq
Here is a copy of the Australian PM's address to the Australian public and armed forces today following a full lower-house sitting of parliament under
special provisions. I have also saved it into a text document for those who wish to have a copy.
Transcript of PM's speech to the nation:
I've called this news conference to announce that the Government has authorised the Chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Cosgrove, to place
the Australian forces already deployed in the Gulf region as part of any US-led coalition operation that may take place in the future directed in
accordance with existing authority under United Nations resolutions to disarm Iraq. This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting this morning
following a further telephone discussion between myself and President Bush. He indicated that the final diplomatic attempts in New York to obtain
strong support for the 18th resolution dealing with the disarmament of Iraq had come to an end. The Government strongly believes that the decision
it's taken is right, it is legal, it is directed towards the protection of the Australian national interest and I ask the Australian community to
support it.
~
Iraq has a long history of acting in defiance of Untied Nations resolutions. Iraq has chemical and biological weapons and an aspiration to acquire
nuclear weapons. If Iraq does not have taken from it those chemical and biological weapons, other rogue states will think they can imitate Iraq and as
more rogue states acquire chemical and biological weapons, so the danger of those weapons falling into the hands of terrorists will multiply. If
terrorists acquire weapons of that kind, that would represent a clear, undeniable and lethal threat to a western nation such as Australia.
~
The action that might be taken as a result of this decision has a sound legal basis in the resolutions of the Security Council that have already been
passed. If you go back to resolution 678, 687 and 1441, you find ample legal authority. That is not only the legal advice that has been tendered to us
but it is also almost identically the published view of the Attorney-General of the United Kingdom Government. It also corresponds with legal advice
that has been tendered to the United States Government. It is my intention to table in the Parliament this afternoon the text of the legal advice that
has been provided to the Australian Government.
~
This, of course, is not just a question of legality, it is also a question of what is right in the international interest and what is right in
Australia's interests. We do live in a different world now, a world made more menacing in a quite frightening way by terrorism in a borderless world.
And the possibility of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists and the need to take action to prevent that occurring is one
of the very strong motivations for the actions that the Government has taken.
~
The Australian Government believes that the United States has shown great leadership on this issue. It is always easy to criticise the one superpower
of the world, it is always easy to find fault with the approach taken by the United States. The truth is for those who have said constantly and still
say that all virtue lies in the lap of the United Nations Security Council should remember that it was the action of the United States that returned
this issue to New York.
~
Four months ago, the 15 members of the Security Council passed a resolution calling upon active, immediate and unconditional compliance by Iraq with
the requirements of disarmament. That has plainly not been the case. It is equally plain that the only thing that has squeezed a few morsels of
cooperation out of Iraq has been the presence of the British, or rather the American, and the British forces and to a lesser extent of course our own,
given their smaller size in the Gulf region. It is equally plain that if those forces were withdrawn then any semblance of cooperation by Iraq would
disappear. I believe that the United States and her allies on this issue have been very patient, they have tried hard but the people in the end who
have made their task impossible, in the main of course, have been the people who comprise the Iraqi leadership.
~
I am very conscious of how difficult this issue is for many people in Australia. I respect the fact that not all will agree with me. I ask them to
understand this Government has taken a decision which it genuinely believes is in the medium and longer-term interests of this country. I say to
people who disagree - have your beef with the Government, have your beef with me, do not have your beef with the men and women of the Australian
Defence Force. They are brave, courageous, young Australians who will need our support, our prayers, our encouragement and our thoughts. Let none of
your rancour go in their direction, let it come, as it should in a great democracy, in the direction of those who have taken this decision.
Attachment: PM Address.txt (5kB)
This file has been downloaded 316 times
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Sidewinder 42
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48 hours to war
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cultprincess
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You sir are correct unfortunately. Let's see how well George and Saddam play in the sandbox now8)
I'm sure the media is in full force ready to jump all over the latest breaking news, as our troops are, gearing up for battle. It's good they (the
media) keeps us informed to a certain extent, but not to the point of ad nauseum.
There's an old saying that goes, Those Who Long For Peace, Must Prepare For War.
All we can do is hope for the best.
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romi
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sidewinder 42
48 hours to war |
24 hours to war but i think that is gonna be tonight. When the moon changes????
That's when U.S. gonna attack.
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gabewave
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Cultprincess, you have no idea about what the media is doing. Yesterday at 10:00 AM things got a little sticky around here at work.
We have built an entire new set with Target:Irag in the background and bottom lighting to give an effect of danger. It's pretty scary what our news
department will do for ratings during the war. My general manager also told us all that we have to watch what we say in public now. He dosen't want
us to openly object to the war especaily if we are wearing our logo, which most of us do. It's getting scary.
Now Just Breath.
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Sidewinder 42
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Well, one of our more ratings-driven media mainstays, has actually started producing an extra news service at 4:30pm just so they can say "First with
todays news! Target: Iraq". And from what I've heard, advertising time during that bulletin is running at 250% of standard news-time prices.
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Sidewinder 42
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Oh, and by the way:
That last block of text in the PM's speech is probably one of the most intelligent things that has been said in this whole mess. If we ARE going to
war, direct your anger at the government who sends the troops, not the troops themselves.
This applies to all nations.
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gabewave
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I agree with you on that one. It's not the troops fault that our president is pissed that Saddam Hussein took out a contract on his dad's life.
Fuck, I'm a little worried about this pissing contest.:o
Now Just Breath.
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moya
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| Quote: | Originally posted by cultprincess
Let's see how well George and Saddam play in the sandbox |
well, if only THEY were in the sandbox...
*** All the suffering in the world arises out of wanting happiness for self. All happiness in the world arises out of wanting happiness for others
***
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the wizard
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i liked the speech, theres guy with a spine. not everyone around the world hates or is against the ugly capitalist americans(thank you france, ya
fucking pussys). facts are facts though and the AU prime minister was 100% correct in his speech. i heard an iraqi diplomat call bush a "stupid man"
today on a press clip, i say no, stupid is blindly facing the wrath of our combined forces in the region and putting your innocent people at risk
instead of stepping down from the seat of power.
stupid is as stupid does(gumpism). for all it's worth at this point in time yours truly is VERY concerned about "our" boys and girls in the region. i
have a VERY VERY bad feeling that chemical weapons that "dissapeared" from the stock piles are going to be used against us. we will lose many many
people in this go round, that is what worries me terribly. i saw it in a vision, and my visions are 99.9% on target(no pun intended).
saddam hussien is NOT a good guy, plain and simple.
just ask the kurds what a "nice guy" he is.
F.Y.I his (saddams) son likes to rape and torture women and video tape it for future "use", what a kind and gentle family they have there. wiping that
fucker off the face of the planet will be a great pleasure to see. i only wish i was of "age" to join in, although i am opposed to the taking of life
of any person, i would so totally kill those assholes(hussain family) over there in a heartbeat! fuck em, they were given multiple "outs" did they
take them?
NO, instead saddam is willing to risk innocent lives for his bullshit(bush's too) macho dick waving contest. well the U.S has a REALLY BIG DICK!!!!
in the words of dr. martin luther king,
"WE SHALL OVER COME"
o.k i'm done ranting for,,,,now?
when kids ask me how does santa clause live forever, i tell them "it's because he drinks blood".
if life deals you lemons, why not go kill someone with the lemons(maybe by shoving them down his throat).
it's too bad that whole families have to be torn apart by something as simple as wild dogs.
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Sidewinder 42
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For what the Prime Minister said to Parliament about the FULL reasons behind his decision, it can be downloaded here:
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/latesthansard/rhansard.pdf
This address will no longer be valid once the house re-sits, as it will be replaced with the newest edition of Hansard (parliamentary Transcript)
Also, you'll need to scroll down to page 15 before the actual transcript of what was said starts, as the beginning is all about who was there.
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