Peter,

If you are going to continue your sweeping, vote pulling political rhetoric on subjects such as religion and Iraq please break the ALP mold and offer viable solutions or alternatives.

Factual debate is required as opposed to the antithesis on all Govt decisions or policies. I have no doubt that the reason the US is in Iraq is to secure oil and influence OPEC. Strategically, Aust involvement within the coalition is to ensure our economic future and national security. However operationally,Aust Forces contribute to the security and stabilisation effort under the legitimacy and mandate of Iraq's democtarically elected Govt(the people). Therefore, what effect would your policy have on the people of Iraq? What effect would it have on Aust/US alliance and trade, hence Australia's strategic paradigm of economic prosperity and security? Aust is not part of the UN security council, it has an alien voice in APEC and is a distant cousin of the EU - so how does the ALP intend to unilaterally manage these effects?

If we were to take your 'chrisitian' path of a just war, pull out of Iraq and break our US alliance how would the ALP raise the billions required to cover the security gap left by the dissolution of the US security pact? How would Aust cover the economic downturn caused by peak oil, loss of trade agreements with the US and it's allies (such as Japan); and the OPEC maffia?

Ultimately we have all seen how well collective security works under the increasingly incongruous UN. The Balkans, Rwanda, Somolia and now the Sudan are just to name a few(million). Will your plan add Persia to that list?

Obviously, you have taken a leaf out of the Rudd and co. chrisitan vote scheme for the next federal election. Perhaps you and Rudd could concentrate on these alternative strategies instead of 'chrisitan vote pulling'. Our strategic paradigm is far from perfect, but it is realistic. Hanging our strateic futute and national security on idealism, christianity and NGOs is eventually doomed by its very principle - human nature.