By James Vassilopoulos
When John Howard wished the 110 Special Air Service troops good luck and "god-speed", standing next to him offering bipartisan support was opposition leader "Bomber" Beazley.
In 1991, PM Bob Hawke didn't even wait for US President George Bush to call him before offering Australian frigates. Beazley was similarly quick to support new US aggression against Iraq.
Beazley is carrying out ALP foreign policy. The party's new platform states: "Our alliance arrangements with the United States of America remains fundamentally important to Australia's security. We will continue to build on that excellent relationship developed over many years."
The ALP supports US bases in Australia, which were used in the last Gulf War and are likely to be used in the event of a new war. Its 1998 policy states: "The joint facilities in Australia make an important contribution to deterrence and the avoidance of conflict. They have helped in arms control and disarmament."
The ALP left, however, claims it opposes the use of force in Iraq. Bruce Childs, on behalf of the ALP National Left, said: "We believe that the use of armed force should only occur when sanctioned by the United Nations after all diplomatic avenues have been explored. Most importantly, there is no guarantee that the toxic substances, that are at the centre of concern, would not be released, one way or another, with disastrous results in the Middle East."
This "opposition" is very limited. It does not call for US and Australian troops to leave the gulf, nor does it call for lifting of the seven-year-old sanctions which have already killed between 1 million and 1.7 million Iraqi people.
More importantly, it doesn't indicate that the ALP lefts are going to do anything about their opposition to the use of force. Will they put a motion before state or federal parliaments condemning any new gulf war? Will they fight to change the party's pro-war position and be prepared to leave if they don't succeed? Are the lefts prepared to put their principles before their parliamentary careers?
Don't hold your breath. During the last Gulf War, the left made it very clear that it was not about to challenge the leadership.
Similarly, this time around, the ALP National Left has remained silent about any action. It hasn't even said it will vote against any pro-war parliamentary motions.
Interviewed on ABC Radio on February 9, Anthony Albanese, the ALP member for Grayndler, could only say that the ALP caucus might have a discussion about it before parliament resumes in March.
When asked if Beazley was wrong to support Australian involvement in the military build-up in the gulf, he replied: "I am not saying he is wrong. I am saying I have a different opinion."
The whole point of the ALP left's token opposition is to try to fool people into believing that there is a real debate taking place within the party. In the end, all it does is provide cover for the party's pro-war position.