Australia kept quiet about early deployment of forces ahead of Iraq war, cabinet papers show

The Howard government sent military personnel to the Middle East well before officially authorising Australia's involvement

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The Howard government avoided disclosing that it had sent military forces to the Middle East months before authorising Australia's official involvement in the Iraq war in 2003, cabinet records show.

Cabinet documents from 2003 and 2004 released by the National Archives contain the first confirmation of what has been widely discussed in the decades since: the government deployed forces well before officially authorising Australia's involvement in the war on 18 March 2003.

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