Even though Ayman al-Zawahiri’s latest message to the West utterly reinforce’s Australian PM John Howard’s point, Howard is taking an enormous amount of heat for “meddling” in US politics—perhaps most of all from the media in his own country: Australian media raps PM over Iraq row with Obama.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia’s media has judged Prime Minister John Howard’s criticism of US presidential hopeful Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record)’s plan to withdraw troops from Iraq as an embarrassing and surprising gaffe.

Howard, 67, who has been in power for nearly 11 years and is seen as an exceptionally wily politician, had made an uncharacteristic misstep ahead of his own bid for re-election this year, newspapers said.

Howard, a close ally of US President George W. Bush, sparked a political storm by saying that the rising Democratic star’s proposal to pull US troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008 would be a boon for Al-Qaeda terrorists.

Oddly enough, there was no international outcry, neither from media nor politicians, when the John F. Kerry campaign sent Kerry’s sister Diana to Australia in September 2004, during the last Australian elections, specifically to undercut Howard by arguing that his support for the Iraq War was making Australians a bigger target for terrorism: Sept. 19, 2004: Outrage of the Day.

JOHN Kerry’s campaign has warned Australians that the Howard Government’s support for the US in Iraq has made them a bigger target for international terrorists.

Diana Kerry, younger sister of the Democrat presidential candidate, told The Weekend Australian that the Bali bombing and the recent attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta clearly showed the danger to Australians had increased.

“Australia has kept faith with the US and we are endangering the Australians now by this wanton disregard for international law and multilateral channels,” she said, referring to the invasion of Iraq.

Asked if she believed the terrorist threat to Australians was now greater because of the support for Republican George W. Bush, Ms Kerry said: “The most recent attack was on the Australian embassy in Jakarta — I would have to say that.”