New PM, Old War
Posted on | March 29, 2008
Australia’s new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is wasting little time in withdrawing his nation’s forces from Iraq:
Mr Rudd’s meeting with Mr Bush was to be a far cry from the previous - and almost annual - visits to Washington by John Howard to stand shoulder to shoulder with his friend.
Mr Bush is becoming increasingly isolated in the US over Iraq. Even the Republicans’ presidential candidate, John McCain, this week turned his back on the Bush Administration’s unilateral approach to foreign policy.
Strategists in Washington said Mr Rudd’s position on Iraq had been accepted by the Administration and was unlikely to raise concerns at the meeting, which was to canvas climate change, the global economic meltdown and security in Asia. Mr Bush was also keen to hear Mr Rudd’s opinions on China.
The US National Security Adviser, Stephen Hadley, said the relationship remained in good shape and the important aspect of the meeting was for the leaders “to get to know one another”.
By urging European countries to do more in Afghanistan, Mr Rudd has avoided angering the US. He and Mr Bush will attend the NATO summit in Bucharest next week and Mr Rudd said Australia had no intention of adding to the 1000 troops it already had in Afghanistan.
This makes Australia’s government a hundred times wiser than ours.
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