Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has commissioned an inquiry into why Cabinet documents from 2003 on Australia's involvement in the United States-led Iraq invasion remain classified.
The move comes after the National Archives of Australia released records from 2003 on Monday, which were expected to shed light on why John Howard's government committed Australian troops to the invasion, as per ABC News.
Albanese Orders Probe Into Missing Iraq War Documents
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reacts as he speaks during a press conference in Sydney on December 20, 2023.
However, the documents did not reveal any formal submissions made to the Cabinet and only showed that Howard made oral reports. On December 19, 2023, additional documents that had not been forwarded to the archives were discovered, and Albanese has ordered an investigation to determine why these were not submitted.
Denis Richardson, former director-general of security for Australia, will conduct the independent review, and Albanese expects him to present his findings within the next two weeks. Albanese insisted that Australians have a right to know the decision-making process that led Howard to commit Australian forces to the US-led invasion. The extra documents that were found are believed to contain national security committee submissions and will be reviewed for their suitability for release.
Albanese stated that Australians have a right to know what led to the decision to go to war, as Australian lives were lost during the conflict. He also noted that some of the reasons given at the time for going to war, such as the alleged weapons of mass destruction held by Iraq, were incorrect.
The 2003 cabinet files were submitted to the archives in 2020 by Scott Morrison's Liberal government after a 20-year secrecy provision expired. At the time, the 2003 Labor opposition, led by Simon Crean, did not support Howard's decision to join the US-led coalition, according to The Guardian.
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Australia's Iraq War Remains Secret
In response to the failure to forward the 78 documents, including files about Australia's decision to join the invasion, Albanese ordered an investigation into its cause. The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet attributes the botched transfer to administrative oversights and the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The government announced that it would consider taking further action to improve transparency and that all documentation should be released to the public, barring any risks to national security.
The US-led invasion of Iraq began on March 19, 2003, with the aim of disarming weapons of mass destruction, ending Saddam Hussein's support of terrorism, and freeing the Iraqi people. The Australian government warned of a "real and unacceptable threat to international peace and security" posed by weapons of mass destruction.
However, it was later revealed that any such weapons held by Iraq had been destroyed years earlier. The conflict led to the deaths of over 200,000 Iraqi citizens, and its legality and justification have been questioned by many. The 2003 invasion sparked some of the largest protests in Australia since the Vietnam War, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to protest against the war, The Examiner reported.
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