Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Bunyp Aristocracy
Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, is a man of Scots descent, and began parrotting the very English phrase about 'cutting and running' from Iraq in late 2003/early 2004. He didn't stop until the Coalition won the federal election of October 2004.]
I suppose, given Australia’s short history, three generations in politics qualifies one for the epithet ‘aristocrat.’ So it can be expected that foreign minister, Alexander Downer sounds like a nineteenth century scion of Her Britannic Majesty’s Empire with the arrogant smugness of “We will tell you when the job is done — and when Australian troops are ready to come home from Iraq.”
If ‘Wee Sandy’ and his ilk had had their way, Australians would never have “cut and run” in Vietnam, and we would still be mired there fighting for God and McDonalds, and supporting the American Alliance (Do Australians really support a policy of marching in lockstep with the US — or are we just frightened of the biggest bully on the block?). The bloody events of the past two weeks in Iraq are stirring the ghosts of that era, and Australians would do well to remember them.
If ‘Wee Sandy’ and his ilk had had their way, Australians would never have “cut and run” in Vietnam, and we would still be mired there fighting for God and McDonalds, and supporting the American Alliance (Do Australians really support a policy of marching in lockstep with the US — or are we just frightened of the biggest bully on the block?). The bloody events of the past two weeks in Iraq are stirring the ghosts of that era, and Australians would do well to remember them.
