IRAQ will remain beset by sectarian violence and terrorism even after coalition forces leave it, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has warned.

“There is no such thing as victory in Iraq,” the minister declared in a speech to a defence conference yesterday.

He made the extraordinary admission just hours before US Vice-President Dick Cheney arrived in Australia last night on an official visit, and the day after Britain announced it was cutting its Iraq troop commitment by a quarter.

In his speech, Dr Nelson said people should not be thinking in terms of “conventional victories or success” in Iraq.

Success would “essentially mean that the democratically-elected Iraqi Government, supported by its own Iraqi security forces, will be able to provide economic and defence security to its own people for the forseeable future,” he said.

“It will, however, be a country that will continue to be characterised by degrees of sectarian and other violence and al-Qaeda and other terrorists who so desperately want to make sure they prevail in Iraq will do everything to frustrate and undermine it.” ~The Age

No, no, silly boy!  Hasn’t he read all of the grave warnings from Mr. Bush that the terrorists will “follow us home” when we leave Iraq?  (Come to think of it, this rhetoric has the odd effect of portraying jihadis as being rather like stray puppies.)  Islamic terrorists won’t stay in Iraq–why would they want to stay in a poorly governed country with lax security where they speak the language and have access to many new recruits?  That’s just crazy.  The flypaper will be all out of its adhesive by that point in any case. 

But I’m sure we all eagerly await PM Howard’s denunciation of his minister’s claims, which he will condemn for their facilitation of the triumph of Al Qaeda.  Right?  Somehow the world has become so bizarre that an Obama-like view has unexpectedly triumphed with one of the chief members of the Australian Cabinet. 

Speaking of Obama and Iraq, I wonder why he doesn’t take his spiel on an international tour.  He could say things like, “We’ve had plenty of soldiers and post-invasion plans in Iraq.  What we’ve been missing is hope.”  Or he could say, “We aren’t fighting against insurgents or terrorists or militias.  We’re fighting against hate.”  Oh, wait, Bush already used that line.  How about this one: “At every stage of this war, someone has said, Yes, we can! and I’m here to tell them, No, we can’t!”  With this last one he might even be able to make a decent point, but I wouldn’t bet on it.