Australia has admitted for the first time that securing oil resources is a key motivator behind the presence of Australian troops in Iraq. In comments to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson admitted that “resource security” in the Middle East was a priority, and that Iraq’s supply of oil had influenced Australia’s strategic planning in the region.

“Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq but the entire region, is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world,” Nelson said. “Australians and all of us need to think what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq. It’s in our interests, our security interests, to make sure that we leave the Middle East, and leave Iraq in particular, in a position of sustainable security.”

Until now, the US-led coalition has avoided linking the 2003 invasion with oil. For this reason, Prime Minister John Howard has played down the comments by dismissing the idea that Australia’s involvement was motivated by oil. “We didn’t go there because of oil and we don’t remain there because of oil,” Howard told a local radio station.

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