AUSTRALIA: A major security operation has started in Australia with the arrival of President George Bush.There were protest events in main cities and many regional areas yesterday, with a national rally at Parliament House, Canberra, today.
In Sydney thousands gathered at the Town Hall before marching to the US consulate. Protesters, opposed to Australia's part in the war against terrorism, are demanding the return of Australian troops from Iraq.
"Intelligence was falsified to try and convince people to proceed with an illegal war," the organiser of the Sydney rally, Mr Nick Everett, said.
He added that protesters also objected to the proposed US-Australia free trade agreement, saying it was the government's "prize" for committing troops to Iraq.
En route to Australia, Mr Bush took his message to Singapore. He and the Singapore Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, agreed to start talks on an expanded defence and security arrangement with an emphasis on counterterrorism.
The Singapore-US talks on a new "framework agreement" covered joint military exercises, training and defence technology and also took aim at halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction, a joint statement said.
Singapore, which is a staunch US ally, foiled plots by Islamic radicals to blow up the US embassy and other American interests in 2001 and 2002, detaining 33 members of the militant Jemaah Islamiah network after swooping on its Singapore cells.
Talks on a new security arrangement come after Singapore gave access to US warships and aircraft during the Iraq war.