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Australia's Howard accused of 'war crime' over Iraq

AFP, Sydney, White House
An alliance of Australian lawyers, academics and politicians wants former prime minister John Howard to be prosecuted for war crimes over the invasion of Iraq, a report said Monday.
A legal brief had been sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging that Howard committed a war crime by contributing troops to the US-led invasion in March 2003, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said.
A spokesman for the organisers, the Melbourne-based ICC Action group, told the broadcaster that Howard should be held accountable for sending soldiers to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations.
"We have produced a 52-page brief of evidence which stales to the chief prosecutor of the criminal court that we allege John Howard’s actions are war crimes under article 8 of the Rome Statute," said spokesman Glen Floyd.
Senator Lyn Allison of the Australian Democrats, described as one of several eminent people supporting the move, told ABC that accountability was important.
Howard was ousted in elections in November by now Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who announced in parliament Monday that Australia's 550 combat troops
had begun withdrawing from Iraq in line with a pledge made ahead of the vote.
Meanwhile the White House Monday rejected Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's charges of twisted pre-war intelligence on Iraq, saying "the entire world" agreed on the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.
"We acted on the intelligence that we had, and that the entire world had. No-one else in the world, no other government, had different information and so we acted based on what was the threat that was presented to us," said spokeswoman Dana Perino.
Meanwhile the White House Monday rejected Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s charges of "abuse" of pre-war intelligence on Iraq, saying the entire world" agreed on the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.
We acted on the intelligence that we had, and that the entire world had," spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters after Rudd alleged "abuse of intelligence information" on the regime in Baghdad.
"No-one else in the world, no other government, had different information and so we acted based on what was the threat that was presented to us. When the intelligence community presents you with their concerns, you'd better take them seriously,” said Perino.