CANBERRA, March 21 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister John Howard committed Australian troops to remain in Iraq for as long as needed on Wednesday as he moved to shift political debate back to his strengths of defence and national security.
With elections due later in the year and polls turning against him after a fortnight which saw Howard dump two ministers, the prime minister said any premature withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq would destabilise the Middle East and encourage militant groups.
"The Iraqis don't want us to stay there indefinitely. But they don't want us to leave now, they don't want us to set timetables to leave now," Howard told Australian radio.
Australia, a close U.S. ally, was one of the first nations to commit troops to the war to oust Saddam Hussein and still has about 1,500 troops in the region, including about 520 providing security and training Iraqi forces in the country's south.
Australia's commitments to Iraq are shaping up as a major issue for Australian elections, due in late 2007, with centre-left Labor Party opposition leader Kevin Rudd promising to bring Australian combat forces home if he wins power.
Rudd used the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq this week to say his first priority if he won government would be to call U.S. President George W. Bush and the Iraqi government to negotiate a staged withdrawal of Australian forces.
Howard's promise to stay came after he made lightning visits late last week to Australian forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, where he held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
However, his visits were overshadowed at home by a political scandal which forced Howard to dump aged care minister Santo Santoro for failing to detail 72 parcels of shares to parliament's register of financial interests.
Three other government lawmakers remain under police investigation over possible misuse of printing allowances, while former environment minister Ian Campbell was forced to resign in early March for holding a meeting with a disgraced lobbyist.
The latest opinion polls show Howard's conservatives more than 20 points behind Labor with an election expected for October or November. But Howard is still favoured as the person best able to handle the economy, and defence and security issues.
The polls also show 67 percent of Australians either want Australian forces returned from Iraq, or for Howard to set an exit date - something he has steadfastly refused to do.
Howard plans a major speech late on Wednesday on Iraq and Afghanistan, where Australia is considering doubling its military commitment to about 1,000 troops, but said he would not be setting a timetable for withdrawing from Iraq.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said critics of the war should allow time for a reinforcement "surge" of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops to regain control of security.
"You're in the middle of a battle and you want us to say 'look, here's our white flag'," Downer said. "Let's pray that the surge is going to work."
