Following the 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks, the Howard Government initially committed SAS troops as the most high-profile part of Operation Slipper, Australia's contribution to the international coalition invading force in the 2001 war in Afghanistan.
The initial ADF commitment in Afghanistan concluded in November 2002 when the Special Air Service Task Group was withdrawn, however the Howard Government sent a new contingent to Afghanistan in 2005.

A small number of Australians, including David Hicks, were captured in and around the Afghan Theatre having spent time training or fighting with Al Qaeda aligned Islamist paramilitaries.
Hicks' internment at Guantanamo Bay became a highly controversial issue in the latter term of the Howard Government.

Islamists following the Al Qaeda modus operandi bombed a nightclub in Bali in 2002 and killed 88 Australian civilians.

Two days before the attack, the US issued a worldwide warning notice urging tourists to Bali to avoid "clubs, bars and restaurants" where Westerners congregate.
The Australian government had received US intelligence identifying Bali as a possible target of a terrorist attack on Western tourists but did not change its advice to Australian holidaymakers.
The Howard government did not issue a similar warning, though following the attack it issued a travel advisory warning against any travel to Indonesia.

In November 2002, the Howard Government supported UN Resolution 1441, which outlined breaches by Saddam Hussein's Iraq of a succession of United Nations resolutions – among these that Iraq had refused to grant unrestricted access to United Nations Weapons inspectors in the decade since the Gulf War, and a series of other breaches relating to the peace treaty signed at the end the Gulf War.
The resolution offered Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" In March 2003, Australia supported a United States/United Kingdom coalition in the invasion of Iraq, on the basis that it was still in breach of UN Resolution 1441 and that Iraq possessed or was pursuing illegal weapons of mass destruction.
At the outset of the war, Howard said that, "These reasons for our direct and urgent commitment to the cause of disarming Iraq must be seen against the background of the different world in which we now all live".
He said that Iraq should be disarmed because of her "appalling track record"; because it would discourage other rogue states from pursuing WMD; because it would lessen the risk of WMD falling into the hands of terrorist groups; and because Australia should support the American alliance because "no nation is more important to our long-term security than that of the United States".
Howard told the National Press Club on 13 March:
In our view if the world fails to deal once and for all with the problem of Iraq and its possession of weapons of mass destruction it will have given a green light to the further proliferation of these weapons and it will undo 30 years of hard international work, including by Australia, which has been designed to enforce not only conventions on chemical weapons but also the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Additionally, Howard outlined the extensive human rights abuses of the Iraqi regime had perpetrated against its own people, as well as the humanitarian cost of the ongoing UN sanctions regime against Iraq as supporting the case for war against Saddam.

Australia's commitment lasted until 2009.
Australian opinion was divided on the war and large public protests against it occurred.
The Simon Crean led Opposition did not dispute the intelligence suggesting that Iraq was in breach of UN resolutions regarding WMD, but came to a view that Australia should join a war against Iraq only if the UN Security Council called for such a move.
Future Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was promoted to the position of shadow minister for foreign affairs following the 2001 Election and outlined Labor's position in September 2002 by saying:
There is no debate or dispute as to whether Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction.
He does.
T
Following the 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks, the Howard Government initially committed SAS troops as the most high-profile part of Operation Slipper, Australia's contribution to the international coalition invading force in the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The initial ADF commitment in Afghanistan concluded in November 2002 when the Special Air Service Task Group was withdrawn, however the Howard Government sent a new contingent to Afghanistan in 2005.
A small number of Australians, including David Hicks, were captured in and around the Afghan Theatre having spent time training or fighting with Al Qaeda aligned Islamist paramilitaries. Hicks' internment at Guantanamo Bay became a highly controversial issue in the latter term of the Howard Government.
Islamists following the Al Qaeda modus operandi bombed a nightclub in Bali in 2002 and killed 88 Australian civilians.
Two days before the attack, the US issued a worldwide warning notice urging tourists to Bali to avoid "clubs, bars and restaurants" where Westerners congregate. The Australian government had received US intelligence identifying Bali as a possible target of a terrorist attack on Western tourists but did not change its advice to Australian holidaymakers. The Howard government did not issue a similar warning, though following the attack it issued a travel advisory warning against any travel to Indonesia.
In November 2002, the Howard Government supported UN Resolution 1441, which outlined breaches by Saddam Hussein's Iraq of a succession of United Nations resolutions – among these that Iraq had refused to grant unrestricted access to United Nations Weapons inspectors in the decade since the Gulf War, and a series of other breaches relating to the peace treaty signed at the end the Gulf War. The resolution offered Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" In March 2003, Australia supported a United States/United Kingdom coalition in the invasion of Iraq, on the basis that it was still in breach of UN Resolution 1441 and that Iraq possessed or was pursuing illegal weapons of mass destruction. At the outset of the war, Howard said that, "These reasons for our direct and urgent commitment to the cause of disarming Iraq must be seen against the background of the different world in which we now all live". He said that Iraq should be disarmed because of her "appalling track record"; because it would discourage other rogue states from pursuing WMD; because it would lessen the risk of WMD falling into the hands of terrorist groups; and because Australia should support the American alliance because "no nation is more important to our long-term security than that of the United States". Howard told the National Press Club on 13 March:
In our view if the world fails to deal once and for all with the problem of Iraq and its possession of weapons of mass destruction it will have given a green light to the further proliferation of these weapons and it will undo 30 years of hard international work, including by Australia, which has been designed to enforce not only conventions on chemical weapons but also the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Additionally, Howard outlined the extensive human rights abuses of the Iraqi regime had perpetrated against its own people, as well as the humanitarian cost of the ongoing UN sanctions regime against Iraq as supporting the case for war against Saddam.
Australia's commitment lasted until 2009. Australian opinion was divided on the war and large public protests against it occurred. The Simon Crean led Opposition did not dispute the intelligence suggesting that Iraq was in breach of UN resolutions regarding WMD, but came to a view that Australia should join a war against Iraq only if the UN Security Council called for such a move. Future Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was promoted to the position of shadow minister for foreign affairs following the 2001 Election and outlined Labor's position in September 2002 by saying:
There is no debate or dispute as to whether Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. He does. T
Howard Government