The Washington Post has an article indicating the dirty tricks that the US is using to oust Mohamed ElBaradei.
IAEA Leader's Phone Tapped: U.S. Pores Over Transcripts to Try to Oust Nuclear Chief
By Dafna Linzer Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 12, 2004; Page A01
Then I recalled that the WSJ just ran a puff piece on the person whom the US favors as s replacement.
By *DANNY GITTINGS* December 3, 2004
/*Mr. Gittings is The Asian Wall Street Journal's deputy editorial-page editor.*/
ADELAIDE -- Those who wonder why Australia is such a reliable ally of America need only spend some time with Foreign Minister Alexander *Downer* in his south Australia constituency.
Australians like to say they are different. Just how different becomes clear when Mr. *Downer* concludes an interview at his constituency office by suggesting that I accompany him to collect his daughter from a nearby school. There's no chauffeur. Instead the foreign secretary takes the wheel and offers some blunt opinions as he races down an Adelaide Hills freeway.
Political opponents are dismissed as "feral lefties," while Condoleezza Rice wins praise as, "a good woman. That's what I say about Condi." A call from Prime Minister John Howard prompts him to joke about throwing me out of the car window so they can talk in private. Mr. *Downer* ultimately decides to call back later instead.
Rough around the edges, Australians share much in common with Americans. They too are a nation of immigrants with predominantly conservative values (Don't get Mr. *Downer* started on the subject of gay marriage). And, feral lefties apart, they know where their national interest lies. Again and again, I heard ordinary Australians talk about the U.S. alliance in far more positive terms than are commonly heard from America's other stalwart allies -- the British.
That's at least partly because there's no historical baggage. "The U.S. didn't break away from Australia, so there's none of the 18th century history," Mr. *Downer* notes. Instead Australians still remember how Britain failed to defend Singapore in 1942. There's a widespread belief that America saved Australia from occupation when it stopped the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway some months after Singapore fell.
Australia has been at America's side in every conflict ever since -- a record unmatched even by Britain. Only when it comes to defending Taiwan against a possible attack by China -- where Australia, like the rest of the region, seems wary of confronting Asia's emerging giant -- is there any room for doubt that it will continue to do so in future. Echoing earlier remarks during an August visit to Beijing, the foreign minister said there was "nothing automatic" about what Canberra would do in the event of a cross-Strait conflict.
Australia has proved a particularly resolute ally in the war on terror. Its special forces saved many American lives during the Battle of Anaconda in Afghanistan. And when Spain and the Philippines cut and ran from Iraq earlier this year, it was Australia that was loudest in the denunciations -- prompting angry protests from Madrid.
"It is perfectly clear that was a decision that was welcomed by the terrorists," an unrepentant Mr. *Downer* told me. "The ordinary American people shouldn't have to pay the full burden of a freer and fairer and more prosperous world. It should be shared, other countries that share America's values should play their part."
"From the Marshall Plan to the victory in the Cold War against totalitarianism to the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq, it's the people of America who have borne so much of the burden. . . . The rest of the world, instead of constantly sniping at the American people, should occasionally think about sending them a thank you letter for the things that they've done to create freedom."
Mr. *Downer* speaks with the confidence that comes from the Howard government's resounding election victory. Australia's Oct. 9 poll was unusual in that it offered voters a clear choice over the future of the U.S. alliance. Throughout most of the half century, Australia's major political parties had been united in their support for the alliance. But this time opposition Labor Party leader Mark Latham pandered to the left by promising to withdraw most of Australia's nearly 1,000 troops from Iraq by Christmas. He had earlier denounced George W. Bush as, "the most incompetent and dangerous president in living memory."
That went down badly with an Australian public which, whatever their doubts about the original decision to go into Iraq, recognized the importance of standing by the country's most important ally. Although the election was largely fought on economic issues, there's little doubt Mr. Latham's mishandling of the alliance contributed to the size of Mr. Howard's resounding victory.
The Labor Party's plight now resembles that of the U.S. Democrats, struggling to find a way forward after being deserted by more and more voters who find that the party's outdated beliefs are out of step with their aspirations for a better future. But in foreign policy at least, common sense is beginning to reassert itself. Labor is abandoning its "troops out" policy, and Mr. *Downer* predicts it will dump Mr. Latham in favor of a leader who embraces the alliance with Washington.
In any case, the alliance has shown itself strong enough to withstand Mr. Latham's taunts. Or, for that matter, John Kerry's pre-election trashing of Australia and America's other allies in Iraq as the "coalition of the coerced and bribed" -- despite the considerable anger his comments caused Down Under.
"I took great offence," Mr *Downer* said. "Britain, Australia, South Korea and Japan are not countries that are ever coerced or bribed. I thought it was an entirely unnecessary comment and I've made it clear to some Democrats."
For Mr. *Downer* , staying the course in Iraq is about more than burden sharing. He embraces the moral case with as much vigor as President Bush, drawing a parallel with Malaysia. That country was economically on a par with Iraq, on a per capita GDP basis, when Saddam Hussein took power in the 1960s. Now, of course, it is many times richer and the foreign minister suggests the world has a responsibility to help Iraq recover some of the ground it has lost:
"After all the suffering they've been through, and it is the world that imposed sanctions on Iraq for 12 or so years, the world owes it to the people of Iraq to help them achieve not just democracy but the prosperity that is due to them. We're part of the world and we won't walk away from that whatever other countries do."
His daughter collected from school, the car draws up back at the constituency office and the interview is over. "Did you get enough?" Mr. *Downer* asks as he races off to return the call to the prime minister. I nod in agreement. He's said more than enough to demonstrate that -- with the sole possible exception of a conflict over Taiwan -- Australia can be counted on to continue to stand by America's side in the future. And now that the threat posed Mr. Latham has been so decisively seen off, America's alliance with one of its most reliable allies is in stronger shape than ever.
Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
