Howard told to put up or shut up

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has been told to offer more troops or keep out of US domestic politics after criticising US presidential hopeful, Barak Obama, for wanting to withdraw from Iraq.

Obama said Saturday at his campaign kickoff in Springfield, Ill., that one of the country's first priorities should be ending the war in Iraq.

He has also introduced a bill in the Senate to prevent President Bush from increasing American troop levels in Iraq and to remove U.S. combat forces from the country by March 31, 2008.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch Bush ally who has sent troops to Iraq and faces his own re-election bid later this year, said Obama's proposals would spell disaster for the Middle East. "I think that will just encourage those who want to completely destabilize and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory," Howard said on Nine Network television.

"If I were running al-Qaida in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, traveling with the senator in Iowa, said that Howard's words were misguided.

"The United States has sacrificed more than 3,000 brave young men and women and $400 billion, only to find ourselves mired in the middle of a sectarian civil war," he said.

"Even Republicans ... know that more of the same is only going to attract more terrorists to Iraq and make our country less safe." Gibbs went on to say that Howard wasn't in a position to be overly critical.

"If Prime Minister Howard truly believes what he says, perhaps his country should find its way to contribute more than just 1,400 troops so some American troops can come home," he said.

"It's easy to talk tough when it's not your country or your troops making the sacrifices."