I won't budge: Latham defies Bush on Iraq

[CShine]

The Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, has refused to give ground after an unprecedented attack by President George Bush over his pledge to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq, plunging Labor's relations with the US to a new low.

"Nothing President Bush has said today changes our hopes and expectations about the future," Mr Latham said after Mr Bush described Labor's proposed pull-out as "disastrous" and implied that he should not be elected prime minister. "Labor never wanted the troops there in the first place. We intend to have them home by Christmas."

Analysts described Mr Bush's strong attack on Labor policy at a White House press conference with the Prime Minister, John Howard, as an unprecedented intervention in Australian domestic politics that would put the alliance under strain if Mr Latham and Mr Bush won elections later this year.

Mr Latham issued a declaration on Iraq policy, repeating Labor's claims that the Government's policies were making Australia a bigger target and diverting resources from the "real" war on terrorism. He also said the recent revelations of prisoner abuses had given terrorists the best recruitment campaign they could wish for, that Australian troops had been sent to war "for reasons that were not true", and the war was contributing to higher petrol prices. Mr Latham restated his position that Labor supported the alliance but reserved its right to disagree over Iraq. "Labor strongly supports the American alliance first established by the Curtin Labor Government during World War II."

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/04/1086203627741.html

[GregW]

1. Brilliant move by Labour

Reminds me of another masterstroke in 1972 when a youngish Gough Whitlam ran against the 'Liberal' machine and advocated ending conscription (the draft) for Vietnam. Guess who picked up most of the young votes! The Libs had been in power for 23 freakin' years before that.

[dudeness]

2. fuck the alliance..

many countries enjoy a good relationship with the US without an "alliance"..subservience is not an alliance..

[saigon68]

3. Being a Boot Lick to the Americans is in No ones interest

That's where Clinton would have done this differently. We would have had Osama In a box by now.