Declassification of Australian documents related to the 2003 Iraq War

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[size=52]Declassification of Australian documents related to the 2003 Iraq War[/size]

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2024-03-15
Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, ordered an investigation into the reason for not disclosing “declassified” documents issued by the government 20 years ago, related to Australia’s joining the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Albanese said on Wednesday that Australians have the right to know why their country went to war in 2003.[/size]
[size=45]Last Monday, the National Archives of Australia released the Cabinet documents signed in 2003, in line with annual practice on January 1, following the end of the 20-year confidentiality period for the documents.
But the foundation withheld 78 documents related to the Iraq war because they were prepared for the “National Security Committee,” a subcommittee made up of ministers who makes decisions related to national security and foreign policy.
Australia was obligated to participate in the war, after a decision by this committee.
Albanese accused the previous Conservative government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, of failing to follow the usual practice of handing over all documents to the National Archives, three years before they were scheduled to be released.
He said that he decided to appoint retired public servant, Dennis Richardson, to investigate whether the documents had been withheld as part of a political cover-up, within two weeks.
The Morrison government's decision to send Australian combat troops to support American and British forces in the invasion of Iraq was opposed by the Labor Party, which belongs to the center-left movement led by Albanese, which was in the opposition at the time, and sparked the largest street protests Australia has witnessed since the Vietnam War.
“The National Archives should release documents once they have been examined for any national security issues that might exempt them from rules requiring publication after 20 years,” Albanese said.
"Let me make my government's position very clear: Australians have a right to know the basis on which our government launched the war in Iraq," he told reporters. If this does not happen, we will consider whether the government needs to take further measures to ensure transparency.”
The National Archives said in a statement that it “will decide whether to publish the documents or not within 90 days.” We received the documents on New Year’s Eve, and we are giving priority to reviewing them.”[/size]
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