There’s a report this morning that Australia is going to be pulling out of the Coalition in Iraq:

SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister John Howard has a secret plan to begin withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq by February, and intends to use it to ambush Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd at this year's election, according to a senior military source.

Mr Rudd has committed Labor to pulling out Australian troops from the increasingly unpopular war, if he wins.

But Mr Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer have both denied any timetable for a pull-out, News Limited newspapers reported today.

"We have no plans to do that. We are not committed to a timetable in relation to our troops in Iraq," Mr Howard was quoted as saying.

"We are committed to an outcome which is driven by circumstances and events, not by a particular time."

I don’t think this story is going to go down well today in Kennebunkport, where Mr Bu$h pere et fils will be busy looking into Vladimir Putin’s soul.

I am simply shocked at the idea that a politician would try to use troops stationed overseas as any sort of props in a political campaign.