LEADER LASHES LATHAM

President George W. Bush today made a calculated, deliberate and explosive comment outside the White House which injects him, and the United States’ relationship with Australia, firmly into this year’s federal election.

He took a verbal scalpel to Federal Opposition leader Mark Latham over the pledge to “brings the troops home for Christmas” from Iraq.

It seems to be that Prime Minister John Howard – standing next to the President – got exactly what he was look for out of Washington.

Presidential confirmation of his own “Australians don’t cut and run” philosophy.

In the past it was a tradition that Prime Ministers did not discuss domestic issues or home debates while overseas. That’s gone out the window.

And the Bush attack on Latham is the toughest, most scathing on an Australian PM or Opposition leader in about thirty years.

In fairness Bush was answering a question from journalists supposing that Labor won the election.

He said "it would be a disastrous decision for the leader of a great country like Australia. That would be disastrous to say “we’re pulling out”.

Bush said that pulling troops out of Iraq by Christmas would send a message that “when times get tough we will shirk our duty to those who long for freedom".

It would dispirit those who love freedom in Iraq. It would say that the Australian Government does not see the hope and the freedom of a civilized society. It would embolden the enemy to believe that they could shake our will.

“They want to kill innocent life because they think that the Western world and the free world is weak”.

Echoing the President Prime Minister Howard said that now would be “the worst time imaginable for allies to be showing any weakness” in Iraq.

I can predict the Latham response: We make Australia’s foreign policy… not George Bush.

But it shows the risk of policy-making on the run. As I have said before, having seen the transcript, it wasn’t Latham who came up with the “ bring the boys home for Christmas”. It was 2UE’s Mike Carlton. Latham warmed to the idea and has since embraced and embellished it.

Friday, June 4. 2004

©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2004