The timing of what should have been a little- noticed visit to a close ally could hardly have been worse. When Vice President Dick Cheney arrives [in Australia] on Thursday he will find his country’s relations with Australia being subjected to unusually close scrutiny.
Cheney arrives at a time when Prime Minister John Howard, who has been an even more faithful follower of U.S. policy on Iraq than Tony Blair, is lagging in opinion polls far behind the opposition Labor party’s new leader, Kevin Rudd. More ominously for Howard, even the bookmakers’ odds are now on Rudd, who favors a gradual troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Several issues have come together to raise local consciousness of the downside of following Washington too closely. The normally circumspect Howard attacked a potential Democratic contender for the American presidency, Barack Obama, suggesting that his call for a troop withdrawal from Iraq by 2008 would be cheered by Al Qaeda. Obama responded by suggesting that if Howard were so eager to fight, Australia should send another 20,000 troops.
That response hit a raw nerve. For all Howard’s tough talk about the importance of Iraq in the global fight against terrorism, Australian troops have suffered not a single death from enemy action. The contingent of 1,400 troops in the region is mostly kept well away from trouble spots.
Howard was about as “brave” as Cheney when it came to risking his chickenhawk butt — either for or against — when running his mouth back in VietNam days. The funniest bit, though, is flying in a White House hack to prop up his campaign in a nation like Australia which prides itself on independence.
Nice illo. Tee hee.
Wow – Cheney an abject coward and hypocrite? I guess its like president so goes the vp.
Some of you guys are so predicable it is sad.
Eideard, you really ought to stick with science & phenomenon like it says on the masthead. As a political pundit you suck.
The PM of Australia criticizing a US presidential candidate 21 months before the election here is just idiotic. Does this guy work for Rupert Murdoch also?
It’s going to be pretty sweet when that moron (John Howard) loses his election later this year. He’s about as popular in Australia as Bush is here. Maybe he’ll just “retire” instead to save the embarassment of losing.
Howard is behind in the polls for many more reasons than his slavish support for any idiotic policy the neocons may push in the U.S. Like the U.S. Republicans, his party has pushed though a lot of laws that are now hurting everyday Aussies in their everyday lives. Working people there are losing or have already lost both benefits and rights all over the place, especially at work, and there is a lot of serious anger about it. His Iraq stance is just a pivot point, same as in the U.S.
That said, Obama’s reply was brilliant. Little wonder it hit a nerve.
Unfortunately for us Aussie’s, even though Howard makes his foreign policy decisions from a location firmly up George Bush’s backside, he (and his party) have at least been competent economic managers of the country; And the alternative party in recent elections have put forward a leadership group that were inherently and obviously flawed that also offered no alternative position on foreign policy (i.e. remaining deeply wedged in the Dubya back passage).
Fortunately, our alternative party is showing signs this year of getting their act together with their new leadership. This is an election year here, and hopefully the last one we will have to suffer the embarrassment of our Muppet Prime Minister (seriously, if you heard him talk, you’d understand what I mean)
Definitely agree with #5 too, Obama’s reply was pure class.
With Tony Blair relinquishing power in Britain, Bush’s poodle leash is being hand delivered by Cheney to put around John Howard’s neck. I don’t think it’s going to be there long.
One of my favourite references to Howard has been a comedian calling him Bonsai – a little Shrub.
If an Australian prime minister had labeled a GOP candidate as the best friend of terrorist, they’d be shooting Fosters cans with their shotguns!
But even the conservatives have to admit that Obama’s slap down of Howard was about as good as it gets!
Calm, strong and cutting straight the hypocrisy.
It made Bush Sr’s “hiney kicking” of Dan Rather seem like a girly hissy fit.
Would there be any chance of Australia keeping Cheney? Maybe they could convince him with all that great weather (it is summer down under), Australian wines, beautiful women (hey, the daughter should like that), bountiful kangaroo hunting (you can use something bigger then bird shot on your companions), distance from the Democratic controlled Congress, and all those gullible Australians that haven’t fallen for his bull yet.
Please, keep him. Please.
I voted for howard, but now wish he’d just go away.I’m sure his US govt buddies will reward him with a UN nomination in a few years – the sooner he moves to New York or Geneva the better!
I wonder how many Australian troops the PM has in Iraq? Oh wait, what’s that, none?
How can this guy even run his yap about the war and insulting our candidates?
This guy is as big a clown as Bush, and the typical bush backers are out in force supporting this clown.
Seems Howards med’s were wearing off so Dick had to slip over and top them up and change the tape on the bush clone, before the public took to much notice.Those older models are always a bit prone to errors in the receiver relays.