SYDNEY — Australia will formally end its military mission in Iraq at the end of July, the armed forces chief announced today, bringing the country’s involvement in one war to a close even as it prepares to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Australia, one of the United States’ earliest and staunchest allies in the Iraq war, already has withdrawn its combat troops, but several dozen Australian soldiers remain at coalition headquarters in non-front-line roles.
Their work will conclude on July 31, formally ending Operation Catalyst, as the Iraq mission is code named, joint forces head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said in a statement.
“Australian troops have provided important support to security and stabilization operations, and have been responsible for the training of approximately 33,000 Iraqi Army soldiers, including specialist training in logistics support and counterinsurgency operations,” Houston said.
About 100 troops would remain in Iraq protecting Australian diplomats, and two others would remain assigned to a U.N. assistance mission there, Houston said.
Australia’s previous government sent some 2,000 troops to support U.S. and British forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq launched to topple Saddam Hussein. The decision was deeply unpopular, triggering the largest anti-war demonstrations since the Vietnam era.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd fulfilled a promise that helped get him elected in 2007 by withdrawing the last Australian combat troops from Iraq in mid-2008. Just one Australian soldier has been killed in the conflict.
While Rudd opposed the Iraq war, he supports the fight against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and last week agreed to boost Australia’s troops in the central Asian country from 1,100 to 1,550 after receiving a request from President Barack Obama.
Washington’s other key ally in Iraq, Britain, has officially ended combat operations and started withdrawing its 3,700 troops. All but about 400 are expected to have left Iraq by the end of the month.
Obama also is working on a timetable for withdrawing all U.S. combat units from Iraq by September 2010 and pulling out the rest of the U.S. force, currently about 14,000 soldiers, by 2012.
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