The United States assured that its ties with Malaysia will remain intact despite the country's opposition to the war in Iraq.

According to a Bernama report today, US regarded Malaysia as a "traditional friend and partner" and described Washington-Kuala Lumpur relations as "hugely important".

"We are looking to our traditional friends like Malaysia to stay friendly and to remain friendly with us," said US Ambassador to Malaysia Marie T Huhtala.

She said the US understands that Malaysia does not support the war, but hopes that the government would be mindful of the important interests between the two countries.

The ambassador said both countries were important trading partners, with Malaysia sending many of its students to the US, while Malaysia benefitting from large arrivals of US tourists.

"There are many, many ties like that are important to us that we want to continue and it's my firm hope that both Malaysia and the US will be able to continue as friends and partners," she said.

According to latest figures released by the US Department of Commerce, US-Malaysia trade and investment showed an increase between January and November last year compared with the previous year despite a decline in the US global trade during the same period.

Malaysia currently is the 10th largest source of imports for the world's biggest economy and Malaysia's share of the US exports market increased to 1.5 per cent in the same period from 1.3 per cent a year earlier.

Benefit of the doubt

Huhtala said fellow US ambassadors and herself were concerned about the loss of goodwill towards the US especially by governments and people in countries opposed to the Iraq war.

"Of course, I am concerned and so are members of my government and ambassadors around the world. But I hope that countries and people around the world will first of all give the US the benefit of the doubt.

"We have been a force for world peace as long as we have been a country. I hope that other countries will give us the benefit of the doubt, let us pursue this war and bring peace and prosperity to the people of Iraq and then make their judgment," she said.

The ambassador added: "I like to let the people of Iraq to make the judgment o­n whether we have been doing the right thing or not, particularly after this regime had been deposed."

She explained that the US and its allies were putting everything they have into this war because they do not want to prolong the sufferings of the Iraqi people.

"And we are doing our very best to prosecute the war quickly, so that it would be over quickly and we would soon be able to begin helping the Iraqi people recover their own prosperity.

"The great wealth that Iraq has will finally get to the Iraqi people," she said.

National security decision

Asked why the US had risked going to war in Iraq when it was opposed by countries around the world and even by large sections of Americans, Huhtala said: "We don't plan national security decisions like this as a result of a popularity contest."

She stressed that US is doing what it believes is the right thing and added that not going to war could prove to be more risky since Iraq had failed to disarm its alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"War was the last option, it truly was the last option, but it had to be an option because we felt that the risk of inaction was far greater. And that is why we have done this," she said.