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Pre-9/11 Era

Another one of the original three who stood up, Bush, Blair and Howard, is gone.  Australia votes Labor. Good luck with that.

Andrew Bolt’s blow by blow. Howard’s gracious, and so is Bolt.

Bolt lets readers cry here, and gloat here.

The Australian: Rudd says he’ll govern for all.

ABC: Victorious Rudd looks to the future.

Age: Rudd to ‘move forward.’

No sign of what-it-all-means commentary yet as they’re apparently too stunned, bummed, jubilant, drunk or sleeping it off at the Antipodes, but you can check in with Blair and Bolt. 

Meanwhile, here’s the UK Telegraph’s take on Howard and Rudd (Revenge of the Nerd, must-read). Election take here … “Lazarus with a triple bypass” likely to lose his own seat in Bennelong as Labor sweeps Liberals. The Australian’s Jack the Insider, “Honest is gone.” All I have to say is that in his 11 years, Howard not only built the economy at home but advanced Australia, a small, remote nation, as a moral force in the South Pacific, Asia and the world.  There are a lot of other small nations out there that could stand to learn from Australia’s example. 

Here’s Rudd on Iraq and Afghanistan, when he met with Bush in September. Out of Iraq, maybe more in Afghanistan.  It’s a Euro-view from the Antipodes. Abandon Iraq, maybe help Afghanistan more. I’m guessing the loss of 1,500 Australian troops in Iraq won’t be much more than symbolic.  Here’s the AP today with a little more detail, saying Rudd would pull 550 Australian combat troops out of Iraq, but leave twice that number in “mostly security roles.” A kind of half-pregnant approach that strikes me as particularly gutless, pandering to his base while trying to stay good with the United States.

Those 1,500 troops, by the way, represent better than 5 percent of the Australian Army, which also has been engaged in Afghanistan, Timor and various parts of Micronesia at the same time, while the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force have had ships and aircraft operating in the Middle East theater.  This from a nation of 20 million people. Australian troops have suffered about 50 injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, with at least three combat deaths in Afghanistan.

It’s arguable that beyond the not-inconsiderable symbolic value of Australian troops in Iraq, one Australian soldier alone made an inestimable contribution to Iraq’s future. LTC David Kilcullen, counter-insurgency expert seconded to the Pentagon, and then sent to Baghdad with Gen. Petraeus as part of the Baghdad Brain Trust.  Thank you, Australia.   

My take on what it all means?  Nothing good. Howard’s decision to stand with his nation’s allies against undeniable evil ultimately cost him, as Blair’s similar decision cost him. Howard apparently was further hurt by his refusal to set his nation’s interest aside in furtherance of half-baked scientific speculation and worse politics. Then, there was a credit crunch, and the simple fact of having been around for 11 years.

All three men, Howard, Blair and Bush, made me proud of my American, Australian and British heritage* and relieved that in time of war, we can still produce unselfish, clear-minded leaders of this caliber. The war’s not over, but before too long it will be in entirely different hands, at a time when many people are ready to return to a pre-9/11 era … a pre-Bali era, if you prefer … and consider the weather to be the greatest threat to humanity.

So what’s the tally now? Howard, Blair and Bush all withstood mid-war challenges, but that time has passed and by election, internal political transition and term limits, respectively, the leading nations of the free world are transitioning to new leadership. For better or worse. Meanwhile, Canada shifted rightward as has, remarkably, France. Blair’s replacement vows to uphold commitments, but Britain is still prematurely pulling out of Iraq, and the staying power of Britain, Canada and other NATO allies in Afghanistan remains an open question. In France, Sarkozy is occupied with with his not inconsiderable social overhaul, and his Americophilia so far is largely sentimental.  The United States post-Bush … we’ll see.

Steyn’s also counting heads in the Free World.

Gateway salutes Howard, has your Rudd-earwax vid here.

Blackfive thanks a friend.

Pajamas with a roundup.

* With a family history of military service and sacrifice in defense of freedom in all three nations within the last century, dating to Waterloo before that. Yeah. I’m bragging.

Topics: Australia

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:46 am on Saturday, November 24, 2007

6 Responses to “Pre-9/11 Era”

1. BLACKFIVE Says:
   November 24th, 2007 at 9:27 am

   Thank You, John Howard

   A friend when we needed one, John Howard, loses the election in Australia. Jules Crittenden gets the nod here:…My take on what it all means? Nothing good. Howard’s decision to stand with his nation’s allies against undeniable evil ultimately cost

2. Don Surber » Blog Archive » Oz election explained Says:
   November 24th, 2007 at 11:53 am

   [...] I’m not an expert on Australian politics. Jules Crittenden is. U.S. ally John Howard lost to earweax-eatting Kenneth Rudd. Crittenden explains why this is important and not so important to Iraq. [...]

3. RebeccaH Says:
   November 24th, 2007 at 1:20 pm

   A kind of half-pregnant approach that strikes me as particularly gutless, pandering to his base while trying to stay good with the United States.

   Let’s hope he’s only pandering, and won’t make any substantive changes.

4. blogagog Says:
   November 24th, 2007 at 1:27 pm

   “No sign of what-it-all-means commentary yet…”

   It means that the greatest leader in the world since Churchill is out of a job :(.

5. The Road to Surfdom » Blog Archive » An election heard around the world Says:
   November 24th, 2007 at 7:46 pm

   [...] to Jules Crittenden: Howard’s decision to stand with his nation’s allies against undeniable evil ultimately cost [...]

6. ai Says:
   November 25th, 2007 at 9:11 pm

   There are many flawed remarks circulating already, one in particular caught my eye, “that Howard ruled in an ere of serendipity”. Interesting, I guess it’s convenient to ignore Bali, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Asian financial crisis and bird flu pandemic preparations to name a few.
   Thanks John Winston Howard

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