SYDNEY, March 25 (UPI) -- Australia's opposition Labor Party said Thursday it had not decided on a troop pullback from Iraq.
Labor leader Mark Latham said Wednesday troops should be withdrawn because their deployment was draining resources from the war on terror. But Kevin Rudd, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, told the Sydney Morning Herald if the party won, it would seek advice on the security situation in Iraq before making a decision.
"As a government, we will be seeking advice from the diplomatic security service about how best the mission in Baghdad can be secured," he said. "We will be taking that advice ... by Christmas, the situation could be worse or it might be better."
The speculation Labor might withdraw Australian troops if it came to power comes on the heels of Spain's decision to pull back its troops from Iraq by June 30 unless there is a new U.N. mandate.
