Troops make little Iraq difference: Evans (Australia)

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FORMER Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans says it would make little difference to the course of the conflict in Iraq whether or not Australia withdrew its troops.

Mr Evans, who is now president of Brussels-based think tank the International Crisis Group, believes the only thing that will pull Iraq out of its deadly spiral of violence is a concerted diplomatic campaign involving all the key players in the region.

Mr Evans, who is in Australia as part of a gathering of 100 of Australia's global leaders of business, arts and science, warned that the Federal Government placed too much emphasis on its relationship with the US.

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Mr Evans said Iraq was undoubtedly a major military failure for the US, and the matter should now be addressed through diplomatic channels.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20955434-1702,00.html