Brendan Nelson Lets The Cat Out of the Bag

Who? Nelson is Australia's Defence Minister. Here is what he had to say on Iraq on the wider Middle East:

In comments to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Nelson admitted that the supply of oil had influenced Australia's strategic planning in the region.

"Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq but the entire region, is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world," he said.

"Australians and all of us need to think what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq.

"It's in our interests, our security interests, to make sure that we leave the Middle East, and leave Iraq in particular, in a position of sustainable security." [BBC]

Oooops.

(h/t War Within a Breath)