Australian Ships Committed

THE Australian government staunchly supports President Bush's action, Ron Scherer reports from Sydney. Prime Minister Bob Hawke yesterday committed to the war Australia's 848 sailors on two frigates and a supply ship. He told the press in Canberra, ``We all wish for peace but ... sometimes, tragically, we have to fight for it.'' Hawke recalled Parliament from recess to give it a ``full and detailed report.''

Peace groups are outraged by the action against Iraq. Stephen Jones, secretary of the Churches' Working Group for Peace, calls the bombing, ``utter madness,'' saying, ``we've given the sanctions a very short time to work.''