Support for Iraq falling among Australians

CANBERRA, Oct 9 (Reuters) Almost two in three Australians want their country's troops brought home from Iraq as the post-war insurgency deepens, a new poll revealed today.

But Prime Minister John Howard said he would not countenance any withdrawal, as called for by his political opponents, because it could unleash another round of violence.

''Anybody with an elementary understanding of that country now knows that a sudden withdrawal of foreign forces would unleash further violence. It would cripple any hope the country has of establishing a democratic future,'' Howard said.

An ACNielsen survey for Fairfax newspapers found 59 percent of Australians wanted the country's military brought home against 36 percent who wanted them to stay. The rest were uncommited.

Australia, a staunch US ally, was one of the first nations to commit troops to the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003, and currently has about 1,400 defence personnel in and around Iraq.

The deployment is small compared to the 140,000 US troops in Iraq, but is significant for an Australian Defence Force already stretched by deployments in Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomon Islands.

Australia's Labor Party opposition leader Kim Beazley last month pledged to bring the troops home if he won the next federal election, due at the end of 2007.

Beazley said Australians in Iraq were fighting the wrong war and the government should be combating the threat posed by militants in Southeast Asia, where 92 Australians have died in terror attacks since 2002.

''It is the wrong war in the wrong place, and what we need now to do is change strategy and focus on the area where we add most value and that's here in Southeast Asia,'' Beazley said.

The survey found Labor was making inroads on Howard, whose 10-year grip on power has been loosened by rising interest rates and fuel prices which have hurt the middle-class voters the conservative Howard calls his ''battlers''.

Australia has a 450-strong taskforce in Iraq providing security, training and support for Iraqi force in Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar provinces in southern Iraq.

Reuters DKA GC0924