From the BBC

Bush defends policy on Iraq war
President George W Bush has restated his policy that the US will "stay the course" in Iraq as he interrupted his holiday to address war veterans.
Mr Bush said a "policy of retreat and isolation" would not make the US safer. His remarks in Salt Lake City are the first of two speeches on the war this week and come with anti-war protesters still camped outside his Texas ranch.

Another person who is bogged down in the sandpit is our own Kim (that's Mr Beazley, to maaaaaates). Kim has been looking for a challenge, even a cause, to lift his profile beyond that of tedious windbag. It's not for want of trying, it's just a matter of timing, or acceleration. Kim is right behind the PM's call to evict teachers who are the root cause of disloyal anteye-Americanism, but he has been beaten to the soapbox by another profile-builder, Peter (I-wish-I-had-the-panache-of Pat Robertson) Pentecostello. I'm pretty sure that summit of Muslim leaders had been brewing along in Kim's mind, until it was stolen by the Tories.

So, here's the idea for Kim's leadership. Why can't Kim get out of the cockpit of the F111, or Abrams tank, or nuclear-armed submarine, and lead us out of Iraq? If he declined the offers of afternoon teas with arms dealers, "defense" contractors and Pentagon pals, it would be good for his physique, too. I suppose Kim went to a VP Day ceremony. Did he see any Yanks on display? I attended the ritual at Melbourne's Shrine. Despite the obvious facts about the Battle of Midway, the Coral Sea Battle, etc, there were no visible Yanks, apart from a sad old chap up the back with his own flag on a pole. Perhaps that was what got Costello going - not enough grovelling acquiescence to the master race.

From The Age 23/8 Is that anti-US or anti-Bush feeling?
Most Australians know the value of the US alliance, but they would like a relationship in which every policy position is not framed as a kind of loyalty test.

From SMH 23/8 Upping the anti 
It is not anti-American to criticise the war in Iraq. Many, many Americans are doing precisely that right now. It is in fact the fullest expression of the freedom which both countries boast of as their heritage. The surest way to guarantee a rise in anti-Americanism is to try to stifle legitimate and justified criticism by smearing it as disloyal.

Doug Bereuter, in The Age Speak up, Mr Howard
... Australia's candid views shared with the US on international affairs generally, but especially on matters related to South-East Asia and the countries of the South Pacific region, would benefit both the US and Australia. It would always be better to have such candour expressed most effectively in private at the highest levels government, and whenever possible, it would often be beneficial for such conversations to include opposition party leaders from both sides of the Pacific. American leaders need to hear Australian leaders when they have different or more nuanced views. ...
... I also want you to know that I understand that an alliance with the US, even strong, long-term ones like the one with Australia, is a high-maintenance arrangement for our partners. What do I mean? I am admitting that there are at least two characteristics of the American governmental system that surely must test the patience and adroitness of presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers in every country, but especially those countries that are our allies and those countries the US might have on its problem list.
First, my country does not have a parliamentary form of government. We have the US Congress, which in contrast to other nations' legislatures, has more inherent powers that it can and often does exercise quite independently and contradictorily from the president and the executive branch. American legislators can and frequently do act and vote quite independently from their leaders or political party. In addition, in a large country with a huge domestic market and relative physical isolation from other countries, as compared with the size and geographic proximity of European or Asian nations, American legislators are, not surprisingly, on average, less knowledgeable and less interested in foreign affairs.



Martin Flanagan, in The Age on Revive Australia, the idea
I believe the Australian media would do the Australian public a major service if it investigated the question of how we are now viewed globally in the wake, among other things, of our unquestioning support for George Bush's adventure in Iraq.
Let's revive the idea of Australia.

Here's another idea for Kim, to get his head out of the Pentagon's toybox. He could champion the cause of justice for Peter Cabban, who was second-in-command of the Voyager, until a few weeks before the collison with the Melbourne. Cabban was on Late Night Live this week, and a transcript of another recent interview is here. He has been crucified by the Navy, and Kim is just the man to help him recover his reputation.

‘Traces of bomb-grade uranium found two years ago in Iran came from contaminated Pakistani equipment and are not evidence of a clandestine nuclear weapons program, a group of U.S. government experts and other international scientists has determined.  

 

"The biggest smoking gun that everyone was waving is now eliminated with these conclusions," said a senior official who discussed the still-confidential findings on the condition of anonymity.

 

Scientists from the United States, France, Japan, Britain and Russia met in secret during the past nine months to pore over data collected by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to U.S. and foreign officials. Recently, the group, whose existence had not been previously reported, definitively matched samples of the highly enriched uranium - a key ingredient for a nuclear weapon - with centrifuge equipment turned over by the government of Pakistan.’

 

No Proof Found of Iran Arms Program

 

During the gold rush in the US, unsavoury characters used to buy at a very very cheap price (or put a claim upon while a miner turned around or got hold of at gun point), old unproductive mines that weary prospectors were happy to get rid of...

These con artist then would "salt the mine" — that is to say they would place a few traces of gold in the walls of the mine, one way or another (sometimes using a shot gun to embed the gold dust in the rock) — then would sell the mine at a high price to unsuspecting newcomers... or green horns...

These days the same con-artists are occupying the presidency and vice presidency of the US... as well as many other private and public important posts where they still can salt the mines on a world scale... The case was the fabrication of smoking guns to wage a war against Iraq... now, of course this war is full of morality and soldiers corpses for freedom — freedom for religious extremists who are now free to create a restrictive religious constitution .... Does this makes sense? No.

A case of the con artist who does not care about who owns the bloody mine as long as whatever comes out of it brings him cash...

From Aljazeera
Wednesday 24 August 2005, 2:35 Makka Time, 23:35 GMT
A Vietnam veteran offers an interesting and telling incident summing up his personal feelings about the war
"I remember the moment when I knew we were going to lose the war in Vietnam. Frustrated by our inability to find the elusive Viet Cong, the United States had developed a top-secret program to locate enemy troop concentrations.
It was a "people sniffer," a device sensitive to the presence of ammonia in urine that could be hung from a helicopter flying low over the jungle. When a high reading was identified, artillery was directed at the area.

One evening in 1968 I was attending an endof- the-day regimental briefing and an infantry captain was describing a sweep through the jungle. He and his men had encountered something they could not explain: buckets of urine hanging from the trees. The regimental commander and his intelligence officer exchanged looks as they silently acknowledged that we were firing artillery (at $250 a round) at buckets of urine all over Vietnam.

My War

 

A cartoon by Steve Bradenton

From Bomber's flight to the Centre
Mr Beazley said "Labor's trying to lead the debate a bit" and "come out with a few good ideas". He said the reasonable decision to abandon the principle of supporting compulsory student unionism was an example of how the ALP was prepared to be flexible.

Like Barnaby. It's good to have a flexible right arm, when Heffernan is twisting it up your back.

The Look is all-important, as a long-term vacancy in underwear modelling is announced, to remind of the power of advertising.

So, The Age editorial Using drugs invites trouble is right on the money. As long as mortgage-belt thought on 'drugs' does not extend to nicotine and alcohol, because we do not want to offend powerful colleagues, like the tobacco kings, the 'hospitality' lobby and the media. No, a drop or two of Cabernet Chez Kirribilli is quite OK, thanks.

How about a policy on Iraq, Kim?

Ha! Beazley won't lead the retreat from Baghdad, with the lessons from John Kerry's defeat ringing in his ears.
From Breaking point in the heartland -
In that stereotype lies a partial, but misleading, truth. Many working-class families were indeed appalled by the antiwar movement of those years. "I hate those peace demonstrators," the same firefighter said. But his hostility did not make him a hawk. He was furious because he saw antiwar activists as privileged and disrespectful snobs who "insult everything we believe in" without having to share his family's military and economic sacrifices. In virtually the same breath, however, he said about the war of his time, "The sooner we get the hell out of there the better." In fact, poor and working-class Americans were profoundly disaffected by Vietnam. A Gallup poll in January 1971 showed that the less formal education you had, the more likely you were to want the military out of that country: 80% of Americans with grade school educations were in favor of a US withdrawal from Vietnam; 75% of high school graduates agreed; only among college graduates did the figure drop to 60%.

But I'd like to hear Kim's response to, say, Kerry O'Brien, if asked whether he fully supports the Bush 'stay the course' line. Somehow, gazing into the distance at grand nation-building projects (thank you, Halliburton!) will not distract from the immediate concerns of Our President, and the little Tory Mate from downunder riding on the crusader's coat-tails.

[Transcription] Vigil for Cindy Sheehan
Saturday, August 27th 2005 6pm Melbourne

Most Australians are opposed to the war. Good on you Cindy, the awakening has begun. We are with you and we will never give up till the troops are home.
Our quiet candlelight gathering will take your message to the people passing by in Melbourne's busy centre.


Location: 
Bourke Street Mall Melbourne   

Contact:
Sean Kenan
seankenan@hotmail.com
041 921 0043 Australia

The Wearing A Little Thin President .....

Peace Takes Courage

While President George W. Bush travels around the country in a last-ditch effort to sell his Iraq war, White House aides scramble frantically behind the scenes to hide the dark mood of an increasingly angry leader who unleashes obscenity-filled outbursts at anyone who dares disagree with him.

 

“I’m not meeting with that goddamned bitch,

From the Guardian

Britain took part in mock Iran invasion

Pentagon planned for Tehran conflict with war game involving UK troops

Julian Borger in Washington and Ewen MacAskill
Saturday April 15, 2006
The Guardian

British officers took part in a US war game aimed at preparing for a possible invasion of Iran, despite repeated claims by the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, that a military strike against Iran is inconceivable.
The war game, codenamed Hotspur 2004, took place at the US base of Fort Belvoir in Virginia in July 2004.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman played down its significance yesterday. "These paper-based exercises are designed to test officers to the limit in fictitious scenarios. We use invented countries and situations using real maps," he said

read more at the Guardian
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see the cartoon (old) at the head of these blogs...

U.S. Not Winning War in Iraq, Bush Says for 1st Time
President Plans to Expand Army, Marine Corps To Cope With Strain of Multiple Deployments

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 20, 2006; A01

President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and said he plans to expand the overall size of the "stressed" U.S. armed forces to meet the challenges of a long-term global struggle against terrorists.

As he searches for a new strategy for Iraq, Bush has now adopted the formula advanced by his top military adviser to describe the situation. "We're not winning, we're not losing," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. The assessment was a striking reversal for a president who, days before the November elections, declared, "Absolutely, we're winning."

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Gus: see cartoon at the top...