big malcolm blasts cousin it

Fraser urges US to stay out of Australian politics

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser has joined a growing number of prominent Australians urging the United States administration to stay out of domestic politics.

Both Mr Fraser and former Labor PM, Paul Keating, think Washington has gone too far in its further criticism of Labor's Iraq policy.

US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, says after meeting with a number of Labor MPs in Washington it was clear the party is "split down the middle" over its policy to remove Australian troops from Iraq by Christmas.

Labor denies that but Mr Fraser has told Lateline the comment is unforgivable.

"If it had been in older times American officials would have been told to butt out," he said.

Mr Armitage did hold talks recently with Opposition frontbencher Senator Stephen Conroy and former leader Kim Beazley, but both men have refused to comment about their meeting.

Mr Keating has accused the US of political thuggery and described the comments by Mr Armitage as dumb.

The Opposition's Kevin Rudd says the criticism coming from Washington will not change Labor's policy.

"What the Bush administration wanted was for both sides of Australian politics to unite in support for the military invasion in Iraq," he said.

"We in the Labor Party took a different view."

He says there is no room for compromise on the Opposition's plan to withdraw the troops.

The Prime Minister has accused the Opposition leader of hypocrisy in his response to the Bush administration's criticism of Labor's Iraq policy.

Labor leader Mark Latham says the United States should stay out of Australia's domestic affairs.

Speaking on Southern Cross Radio, John Howard has described such remarks as "super sensitive", and says Mr Latham has commented on US politics in the past.

"Mark Latham himself with his attack on Bush when he said he was the most dangerous and incompetent American President in living memory was hardly being diplomatic and gentle," he said.

"I mean this is very much another case of it's okay for Mark Latham to blaze away but if somebody returns the fire so to speak then that's wrong."