Iraq strikes again.

This article considers a political blunder concerning Australia's Iraq policy on the part of opposition leader Mark Latham. With an election expected later this year, and the opposition Labor Party powerfully invigorated under Mark Latham, its latest leader, the prospects for John Howard winning a fourth term as prime minister have been looking a bit dim of late. Youthful and dynamic, and deftly able to steer the political agenda towards issues such as health and education, where Labor resonates strongly with voters, Mr Latham has opened up a commanding lead for the party over Mr Howard's conservative coalition since he took over the leadership just four months ago. Apparently emboldened by a sense that Australians wanted to put their military contribution to the war in Iraq behind them, Mr Latham said on March 23rd that, if Labor wins the election, he will bring the troops home by Christmas. There were echoes of the Spanish election on March 14th, soon after terrorist bombings in Madrid, and the pledge by Jos& eacute; Luis Rodr& iacute; guez Zapatero, the Spanish leader-elect, to withdraw Spain's troops from Iraq. Once Australia's responsibility was discharged after the handover to a sovereign authority in Iraq in July, he said, a Latham government would be hoping to have the troops back by Christmas: hardly revolutionary, given that Labor originally opposed the Howard government's despatch of troops to take part in the American-led invasion.