Australia In Brawl Over Oil Comments

SYDNEY, Australia — Australia was embroiled in a political brawl yesterday after its defense minister said access to Iraq's oil was a key reason for keeping troops there.

The admission embarrassed Prime Minister Howard and was at sharp odds with the government's insistence that oil was not a reason for invading Iraq in 2003 or for stationing soldiers there since.

Brendan Nelson's remarks will fuel worldwide suspicion among critics of the invasion that it was a grab for oil, rather than an attempt to destroy alleged weapons of mass destruction.

Dr. Nelson said, "The Middle East itself not only Iraq is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world, and Australians. We need to think what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq. We need to ensure, not withstanding the significant natural resources that our country has been blessed with, that we are able to access the energy requirements in our region and throughout the world."