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The Beginning of A More Beautiful Friendship

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Skye cv
 
Reply Wed 26 Dec, 2007 03:38 pm



Beginning of a more beautiful friendship | The Australian

[quote]
The Australian
Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor | December 27, 2007


IT was good to see Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Aussie troops just before Christmas. That is the right place for a leader to be. Rudd bolstered the troops' morale, showing them that we all care about them.

The trip also had geo-strategic purposes. In Iraq, Rudd is withdrawing our combat troops, but he underlined Canberra's continuing commitment to help Iraq, not least through military assets, and indeed help the US project in Iraq.

In Afghanistan, Rudd said Australia was committed "for the long haul" to fighting the Taliban.

These are admirable and important statements. They indicate clearly that, contrary to the wishes of some commentators, Rudd is not withdrawing from Australia's global engagement in security matters, including involvement in the Middle East.

It also means the US-Australia intimacy of recent years, especially the military intimacy and its all-important intelligence aspect, will continue. It was not an aberration born of the unique circumstances of Iraq but a natural evolution. Although Rudd will rightly put heavy emphasis on Asia, he also cites the US alliance as another of the three pillars of his foreign policy. (The third is the UN.) He also has close British connections and spoke to Gordon Brown soon after his victory.

Last year I wrote a book on the US-Australia alliance called The Partnership. In researching it I was astonished at just how intimate the US-Australian military and intelligence relationships have become. But the most surprising thing I discovered while writing the book did not directly concern the Americans at all.

Rather, it was the astonishing, continuing, political, military and intelligence closeness between Australia and Britain. This was surprising in part because we are not big players in Britain's primary sphere of concern, Europe. And London's direct security interests in our part of the world are limited.

But we are global players and so is Britain, even more so. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the G8 and NATO, and with renowned armed forces, London doesn't have to punch above its weight to be highly influential. It merely has to punch at its weight.

Everywhere I went in the US-Australia alliance, I found the Brits.

Our special forces train with theirs, as we do with the Americans. Our troops on exchange with the Brits can deploy into military operations with them, an extremely rare practice, but something we also do with the Yanks. Australian liaison officers attend the most sensitive British intelligence meetings and vice versa, in arrangements of such intimacy that they are equalled only in our relationship with the US. [/quote]

>>>>>> continued at link:
[url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22973103-7583,00.html
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Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 878 • Replies: 15
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Pinochet73
 
  1  
Reply Wed 26 Dec, 2007 07:59 pm
@Skye cv,
Skye;49489 wrote:


Cool. What else?:scratchchin:
0 Replies
 
DurtySanches
 
  1  
Reply Thu 27 Dec, 2007 10:26 pm
@Skye cv,
Hello Skye, if you see Red, tell her the gang say hi.
g-man
 
  1  
Reply Thu 27 Dec, 2007 11:03 pm
@Skye cv,
Your comment concerning U.S. and Australian military intimacy as something recently built would be in error lest one forget joint ventures against the Japanese where Aussies were extremely effective and developed a serious level of respect from the U.S. military.
0 Replies
 
scooby-doo cv
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Dec, 2007 12:15 pm
@DurtySanches,
DurtySanches;49545 wrote:
Hello Skye, if you see Red, tell her the gang say hi.


not from me :thumbup:
DurtySanches
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Dec, 2007 07:20 pm
@Skye cv,
How openminded and tolerant of you. You libs are the ****.
g-man
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Dec, 2007 08:21 pm
@Skye cv,
What a shame that a good political site turns into children egging each other with "na na na na boo boo.
0 Replies
 
scooby-doo cv
 
  1  
Reply Sat 29 Dec, 2007 07:33 am
@DurtySanches,
DurtySanches;49568 wrote:
How openminded and tolerant of you. You libs are the ****.


You openminded and tolerant :wtf:
Pinochet73
 
  1  
Reply Sun 30 Dec, 2007 09:16 pm
@scooby-doo cv,
C'mon, Aussies.....don't bail out on America. Keep squeezing triggers and blowing away the bad guys, right alongside your Yank allies. DON'T QUIT ON US, MATES.:bigok:
0 Replies
 
socalgolfguy
 
  1  
Reply Wed 2 Jan, 2008 06:25 pm
@scooby-doo cv,
scooby-doo;49561 wrote:
not from me :thumbup:


Don't listen to turdbreath. You know how much we love you.
0 Replies
 
Skye cv
 
  1  
Reply Thu 3 Jan, 2008 07:19 am
@Skye cv,
Matter of fact - I correspond with Red regularly - I'll be pleased to pass on all the messages.

She's buried in what seems to be in her world twenty feet of white fluffy stuff....

When she surfaces and puts down the shovel...... maybe she'll paste up some humor for us.....

Regarding our relationship with Australia - they are true and fast friends - who perhaps disagree on a portion of the direction our nation is taking - but when push comes to insult - that nation can be counted on for strong support and help. Never
wavered in the commitment to us - and we in return.
Pinochet73
 
  1  
Reply Thu 3 Jan, 2008 01:33 pm
@Skye cv,
Go, Aussie, go!!!!!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
scooby-doo cv
 
  1  
Reply Thu 3 Jan, 2008 02:42 pm
@Skye cv,
Skye;49846 wrote:
Matter of fact - I correspond with Red regularly - I'll be pleased to pass on all the messages.

She's buried in what seems to be in her world twenty feet of white fluffy stuff....

When she surfaces and puts down the shovel...... maybe she'll paste up some humor for us.....

Regarding our relationship with Australia - they are true and fast friends - who perhaps disagree on a portion of the direction our nation is taking - but when push comes to insult - that nation can be counted on for strong support and help. Never
wavered in the commitment to us - and we in return.


Glad to see they got rid of John Howard :thumbup:
0 Replies
 
scooby-doo cv
 
  1  
Reply Thu 3 Jan, 2008 02:43 pm
@Pinochet73,
Pinochet73;49863 wrote:
Go, Aussie, go!!!!!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


Most aussies are aaginst the war in Iraq,will i add them to you nuke list :wtf:
g-man
 
  1  
Reply Thu 3 Jan, 2008 05:18 pm
@scooby-doo cv,
scooby-doo;49866 wrote:
Most aussies are aaginst the war in Iraq,will i add them to you nuke list :wtf:


You don't even know the number of Americans who oppose or support the war. You're hardly qualified to speak for them. But, considering which side of the isle you're on, assumption and deceit is par for the course.
0 Replies
 
Pinochet73
 
  1  
Reply Thu 3 Jan, 2008 10:51 pm
@scooby-doo cv,
scooby-doo;49866 wrote:
Most aussies are aaginst the war in Iraq,will i add them to you nuke list :wtf:


I don't believe it. They're too cool.
0 Replies
 
 

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