Treasurer Peter Costello seems to be putting in a fair effort of batting for ‘America’ these last few days. On Nine’s ‘Sunday’ program we had him coming on strong about anti-Americanism[1] and today in ‘The Australian’[2] Costello has had his interview with John Laws published in the editorials in which Costello insists that that part of our history where America comes to our rescue during the Second World War should never be forgotten.
Of course, our Prime Minister is always prattling on about what an enormous debt we owe to America from the Second World War. But now to bring in Costello – of all people – to help reinforce the idea smacks a bit of desperation in the ranks over the loss of direction in Iraq particularly from the Americans’ point of view. If America goes down in Iraq then so do we. Trouble is, Howard has committed Australia to ‘stay the distance’ with America. He won’t back away from that but will need some let out when things finally and irreversibly do go pear-shaped for the US in Iraq. Howard will tell us that it was a matter of honour that we stick with the Americans through thick and thin, no matter what, and that he had no choice because of that than to stay with them.
We no doubt will be hearing a lot more in the coming months about how the Americans stayed with us even as we were threatened by the Japanese on our very doorstep. And as Americans wake up, as they indeed are now doing, about how wrong it was to go into Iraq in the first place, so we will be hearing more and more of how we are obliged as a matter of debt and honour to stay with the US regardless of what they choose to do in the end.
It’s the Lying Tyrant’s only way out.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Channel Nine ‘Sunday’ program transcript 21 August 2005. Available online: http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/political_transcripts/article_1848.asp Accessed 23 August 2005.
[2] ‘Treasurer Peter Costello on the John Laws radio show yesterday’, The Australian, 23 August 2005. Available online: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16347344%255E7583,00.html
Accessed 23 August 2005.
AUSTRALIANS AT WAR
THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY is a compelling factual history of neoconservatism and its influence on US Foreign Policy in the Middle East during the first decade of the twenty-first century. Click on image above for details.
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