United they stand…
John Howard returns from his whirlwind tour of the United States and eastern Europe tomorrow, the latter to participate in the pomp and ceremony of war remembrance which he so earnestly looks forward to (although it did provide the highlight of the last few months in which Howard, in his own inimitably disingenuous style, with one eye on the assembled media throng, was shaking hands with a grizzled old D-Day veteran in a wheelchair and thanking him for turning up, who looked up at him and dismissed him with a matter-of-fact “I don’t know who you are”) and the former to basically pose and mingle with the majority of his actual constituents. Following his meeting with California Governor Schwarzenegger in Los Angeles (in a scene strangely reminiscent of the movie Twins), Howard flew to Washington for his sixth meeting with Bush in the last two years, for “talks” followed by the obligatory “press conference” in front of the White House press corps and select, security-cleared Australian media representatives.
Bush: “Good morning. Thanks for coming. A couple of opening statements, and we’ll answer two questions from each side. It’s my honour to welcome back to the White House my friend and ally, Prime Minister John Howard. He is a close friend of mine. I appreciate the frequent discussions we have. I value his advice. I appreciate his clear vision. Our two nations were allies in every major conflict of the last century. We’ve each lost citizens in the first war of the new century. I will never forget standing with the Prime Minister on September 10, 2001 - the day before the world changed forever. Americans will never forget the vicious attack in Bali which claimed the lives of dozens of innocent Australians. Today, Australians and Americans are standing together on the front lines of freedom…”
You can pretty much mime the rest off the top of your head after 2 1/2 years of the same superficial, hyperbolic miasma. Johnny’s turn.
Howard: “Thank you, Mr President. May I express to you personally, and to your wife Laura, and to the members of your Administration, my gratitude for the very warm welcome you have extended to me and my wife. You reminded me, Mr President, that the first occasion on which we met in our respective positions was indeed September 10, 2001, at the naval dockyard not far from here, and then we later continued our discussions at the White House. Since then, we have worked together not only as leaders of our two countries that share the values of democracy, share the values of aspirational people, who believe in economic achievement and individual liberty, but we have also worked together very closely in the war against terror. We continue to work closely with you and share your aspirations for a free and democratic Iraq. The establishment of the Iraqi interim government is a major step forward. It is a light to the future as far as Iraq is concerned…”
Yada yada yada. Same shit, different mouth. Howard’s getting good at this appropriated-inspirational-phrase-bingo, but then he has an adroit mentor. The two American journalists paid absolutely no attention to Howard. Then came time for the “other side”. The first asked Bush when the incarcerated Australian citizens David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, buried alive in Guantanamo Bay for 2 years without charge, would face trial, which received the standard, vague non-reply of “the case proceeding”. Just as an American journalist was about to take advantage of the stern silence which indicated in no uncertain terms that the question had been dealt with, Howard, until this stage completely silent, suddenly perked up and pointed at an Antipodean media representative and specifically asked him for his question.
“President Bush, if I could ask a question? Mr Howard and yourself reaffirmed the commitment to stay the course in Iraq. Are you aware the alternative prime minister in Australia, Mark Latham, has promised to withdraw Australian troops by Christmas if he wins the election? What signal would that send to the Iraqi people and the other members of the coalition of the willing?”
The journalist? Murdoch-owned newspaper The Australian writer Steve Lewis. Finally, the question Howard had travelled halfway around the planet to have answered, out loud, for his election campaign ads! Lewis had taken his cue perfectly, and Bush happily obliged, as Howard had no doubt requested earlier in private.
Bush: “I think that would be disastrous. It would be a disastrous decision for the leader of a great country like Australia to say, ‘We’re pulling out’. It would dis-spirit those people who love freedom in Iraq. It would say the Australian government doesn’t see hope of a free and democratic society leading to a peaceful world. It would embolden the enemy, who believe they can shake our will. See, they want to kill innocent life, because they think the Western world, the free world, is weak. That when times get tough, we will shirk our duty to those who long for freedom, and we’ll leave. And I, anyway - [to clamouring reporters] no, you can’t ask any more. Thank you all for coming.”
Howard, beaming: “Thank you.”
Well, what are mates for? Latham responded thusly:
“Labor’s policies on Iraq will always put Australia’s interests first. The Howard Government’s failed policies are hurting Australia in five unacceptable ways: they’ve made Australia a bigger target; they’ve diverted resources from the real war on terror - catching Osama bin Laden, destroying al-Qaeda and breaking up terrorist networks; unfortunately, the prisoner atrocity scandal has given the terrorists the best recruitment campaign they could have hoped for; the Government sent young Australians to war to find weapons of mass destruction that did not exist; and, the war in Iraq and instability in the Middle East have contributed to record high petrol prices now hurting Australian motorists.
“Enough is enough. The best role Australia can play in Iraq is through humanitarian, economic and civilian aid, not a long-term military role. Labor has more important strategic priorities - defence of Australia and the real war against terror. Labor never wanted the troops there in the first place. We intend to have them home by Christmas.
“Labor strongly supports the American alliance first established by the Curtin Labor government during World War II. The alliance is bigger and stronger than the mistakes made over Iraq. I look forward to the day we can put these mistakes behind us and a Labor Government can work with the US to further strengthen [our] intelligence, strategic and cultural relationships.
“Labor strongly supports the alliance but not as a rubber stamp. Nothing President Bush has said today changes our hopes and expectations about the future.”
A diplomatic and well-moderated statement, a far cry from that of the brash young hothead prior to his elevation to Opposition Leader which, (surprise surprise) I preferred…
“I am opposed to the Government’s strategy for war in Iraq because it is the wrong way to conduct the war against terror. I am opposed because it repeats the worst mistakes of George Bush’s foreign policy. I am opposed because it comes from a Prime Minister too weak to say no to the Americans.
“I believe the war against terror should be conducted against terrorists, not the women and children of nation states. The best way of ensuring weapons of mass destruction do not fall into the hands of terrorists is to rid the world of terrorists. Instead, President Bush has squandered international goodwill for his country by following a flawed strategy of regime change.
“Bush himself is the most incompetent and dangerous president in living memory. It is a bit rich for him to be preaching democratic values when he failed to win a democratic majority himself in his presidential election…”
Ooh! Love that last little sucker punch. Still, the little Bush/Howard backscratch wankfest oughta quell the seething masses of xenophobic ignoramuses who truly believe that dissent and skepticism towards the arrogant policies of the bastard sons of Irving Kristol actually amounts to “anti-Americanism”. Speaking of dunderheads…
“We may be the generation that sees Armageddon.”
-Ronald Reagan, 1980
Why do the good always die so young?
