John Nichols: Australia Exits the Coalition of the Willing

[marmar]

from The Nation:



BLOG | Posted 11/24/2007 @ 10:06pm
Australia Exits the Coalition of the Willing
John Nichols


President Bush recently traveled to Australia to thank conservative Prime Minister John Howard for making that country a member of the "coalition of the willing" U.S. allies in the occupation of Iraq.

Bush's trip was supposed to shore Howard up as national elections approached. Instead, the president planted what turned out to be a political kiss of death on his most willing accomplice.

When the votes from Down Under were counted Saturday, it was instantly clear that the vast majority of Australians are no longer willing to participate in the American president's misadventure in the Middle East.

Bush's "Australian poodle" is no longer in charge.

In fact, Howard has been so thoroughly rejected that he's likely to be out of Australian politics altogether.

After a landslide shift to the left by the Australian electorate, Howard -- who was every bit as nasty and gaffe-prone as his pal Dick Cheney -- will be replaced by a left-leaning intellectual who was elected on a platform that promised to withdraw his country's troops from Iraq and to develop a new foreign policy that will be more independent of the United States. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&pid=254100

[LiberalFighter]

1. Why didn't Bush just tell those ignorant Aussies to for Howard.. bring out the stormtroopers.