Prime Minister John Howard said about half of Australia's 2,000-strong military force would be home by mid-June.

"We will begin bringing people home and I would say that by about the end of May we will have got a situation where the (warships) Anzac and the Darwin will be home," Howard told ABC radio, outlining a timetable for the troops' return for the first time.

He said Australia's 14 FA-18 Hornets also would return in May, along with Special Air Service troops, followed in June by the transport ship HMAS Kanimbla and navy mine clearance divers.

Howard rejected a formal request from Britain and the United States for 1,000 Australian peacekeepers to be sent to Iraq, saying Canberra had responsibilities in its own region.

"I don't think Australia should be in a situation where we have a large number of peacekeepers a la the East Timor deloyment, simply because we have responsiblities of that kind going on in our region," Howard said.

"But that doesn't mean you can't have particular forces that provide support in certain areas."

Howard said Australia would provide post-war support in "niche" areas, including committing RAAF air traffic controllers to Baghdad airport, and personnel helping in the search for weapons of mass destruction.

The frigate HMAS Sydney is also heading to the Gulf to relieve the departing ships and Howards said some Australian commandos would remain in Iraq, although he did not specify what their role would be.

Asked how long the post-war contribution would continue, Howard said: "I can't put a time on that."

He predicted the transitional phase would be challenging, as Iraqis tasted freedom for the first time in a generation.

"You need to give people time to adjust, and there are going to be mistakes made and there are going to be difficulties, there are going to be arguments, there is going to be criticism," he said.

"That is unavoidable but we have to keep a sense of proportion.

"No nation goes from the iron grip of a tyranny like that to freedom without there being a lot of adjustment pain and challenge."

Australian forces suffered no casualties in the war and its special forces were singled out several times for praise in disabling sites that could have been used to fire Scud missiles and for long-range information-gathering patrols deep behind enemy lines.

An opinion poll this week showed that Howard, who faced widespread criticism for sending troops to the Gulf, has opened up a record approval rating over his opposition counterpart Simon Crean of 62 percent to 16 percent.

SPACE.WIRE