Over the weekend, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said a proposal by newly minted presidential candidate Barack Obama to withdraw troops from Iraq would only encourage the civilized world’s terrorist enemies. Said Mr. Howard:

“If I were running al Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Mr. Obama but also for the Democrats.”

Mr. Howard’s said what few in the U.S. have been willing to say for fear of giving offense or being accused of “questioning the patriotism” of the war’s critics. Only Joe Lieberman was willing to put his beliefs ahead of his political career when speaking up about terrorism and the war in Iraq.

“I hold the strongest possible view that it is contrary to the security interests of this country for America to be defeated in Iraq,” Howard said.

“Let me make it perfectly clear, if I hear a policy being advocated that is contrary to Australia’s security interests, I will criticize it.”