Muted reaction to aggression by allies fails the test of our generation

March 3, 2026 — 6:45pm

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On March 20, 2003, then prime minister John Howard addressed the nation to justify Australia joining the United States-led invasion of Iraq.

He cited the threat of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction – a threat we now know was illusory. He also cited the character of Saddam Hussein’s rule.

“There are many dictatorships in the world. But this is a dictatorship of a particularly horrific kind,” he argued. “The removal of Saddam Hussein will lift this immense burden of terror from the Iraqi people.”

Sadly, that prediction too proved illusory, as the invasion ushered in years of violence, greatly increased neighbouring Iran’s influence in Baghdad and ultimately led to the apocalyptic rule of the Islamic State group in the country’s north.

Howard assured his television audience that the invasion was “fully legal under international law”, based on United Nations Security Council resolutions. Yet, the invasion had already been delayed by attempts to secure........

© Brisbane Times