Australia, Canada, and Iraq

Ramesh Thakur is a former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Responsibility to Protect Commissioner. Currently the director of the Centre for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in the Crawford School, Australian National University, he has served as an adviser for governments and international bodies. He lives in Canberra, Australia.

• ContentsIntroductionJack Cunningham and Ramesh Thakur1.Staying Out of IraqReflections by the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien 2.We Were Right to Invade IraqThe Right Honourable John Howard 3.Parliamentary Democracies at War: A Panel Discussion 4.The Shock of the Iraq War, and Awe at the Lingering Effects of the Folly Ramesh Thakur 5.The Iraq Invasion and U.S.-U.N. RelationsRoger Coate 6.The U.S. Alliance of Strategic CousinsJohn Blaxland 7.Australia’s International Deployments in Historical PerspectiveWilliam Maley 8.War and the Canadian Liberal ConscienceJohn English 9.Why Australia Invaded Iraq: A Study in Alliance ManagementHugh White 10.Cheerleaders of Folly: Australia’s Misguided Attempt to be a Good AllyCharles Sampford 11.Taking the Off-Ramp: Canadian Diplomacy, Intelligence, and Decision-Making before the Iraq WarTimothy Andrews Sayle 12.Toujours la Politesse? The “Impolite No” on Iraq in Historical PerspectiveKim Richard Nossal 13.The Politics of Disarmament: Canada and the Invasion of Iraq, 2002-03Jack Cunningham14.Australian Public Opinion Toward the Iraq WarIan McAllisterAppendixIndex

Canada’s example, which takes the war power out of the hands of the prime minister alone, is one for Australia to consider.