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Iraq Transition

Canberra to review Iraq commitment

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Australian troops arrive in Kuwait in April 2005 on their way to deployment in Iraq.

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(CNN) -- Australia will review its military commitment to Iraq based on the performance of Iraqi security forces in the southern province of Al-Muthanna, the nation's Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said Wednesday.

British and Iraqi officials announced Monday that British troops would be turning over responsibility for security in the province -- one of four under control of British troops based in Basra -- to Iraqis in July.

Nelson said Australian troops would be available to back up Iraqi troops in Al-Muthanna, and he told Australia's Channel 7 television that the government would re-examine its deployment at the end of 2006.

"I can assure you that the next six months in Al-Muthanna is going to be extremely important for our future involvement in Iraq," he said.

"If we can see that the provisional Iraqi government in Al-Muthanna can successfully manage its own affairs and its own security, then I would expect that by the end of this year we would be starting to think about our future deployment."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard was one of the first leaders to commit troops to Iraq, and Australia now has about 1,300 troops there and in the surrounding region.

More than 400 of those have been assigned to protect the non-combatant Japanese contingent in southern Iraq, which Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced Tuesday would be withdrawn. (Full story)

Al-Muthanna is a large, sparsely populated province bordering Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Iraqi security forces already had taken over most security duties there, with Japanese and Australian troops largely focusing on reconstruction work and training Iraqi police and troops, Britain's defense ministry said.

The Australians would continue some of that work after they were withdrawn from Al-Muthanna, Nelson said.

"What we'll be doing is be based at Tallil, a large American air base just north of the border of Al-Muthanna, into Dhi Qar Province, and from there we'll be providing continuing training and mentoring to the Iraqi soldiers, plus we'll be providing back-up just in case the Iraqi security forces need it," he said.

"Because, if you like, the situation in Al-Muthanna is that they're now walking, and before they run we just want to make sure we're there to keep an eye on them, and support them."

The United States has about 130,000 troops in Iraq. Britain, the next-largest partner in the coalition, has about 7,000.

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