Now here's a broken promise I can get behind.

Howard breaks pledge; decides to increase troops in Iraq

Prime Minister John Howard refused to apologize Wednesday for breaking an election pledge by doubling Australia's troop commitment to Iraq, arguing it was justified by the need to maintain an important regional alliance with Japan.

Howard acknowledged he broke his two-year policy not to substantially increase Australian troop numbers in Iraq when he announced Tuesday that 450 additional soldiers will be sent to southern Iraq to protect Japanese military engineers who are repairing roads and schools there.