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October 19, 2006
I've been watching Question Time in federal parliament to see how the Howard Government has been responding to the bad news about the increasing sectarian violence in Iraq (civil war), the deepening Iraqi resistance to the US/UK/Australian occupation, and the country's steady collapse under three years of occuption.
Stavro
Alexander Downer, the Foreign Minister, has boxed himself in a corner. He is still talking in terms of the old cliches: staying the course, doing the job, refusing to cut and run, branding his critics as appeasers running up the white flag. etc etc. These are the only alternatives. etc etc.
The mindset is one of an all-fronts war against Islamist extremism, nay terrorism. It's like listening to a DVD on a loop, or watching a parody of Downer as a chickenhawk at a comedy show. What are we staying the course for these days? What is the job that needs to be done now? What does freedom and democracy in Iraq actually mean amidst all the violence and killing?
There is no new thinking here. Why not withdraw the troops in Iraq and let the Iraqis sort things out for themselves?The withdrawal of US troops may force Shiites and Kurds to begin to compromise with Sunni Arabs. Downer, as always, is waiting for Washington to change course. When the Bush administration does---as it must-- then Downer will sing a different tune for the empire.
He sure needs to since the Iraqi parliament has voted for Iraq to become a federation of autonomous regions--- to partition Iraq along ethnic and sectarian lines. Tis time for some Saudi, Iranian and Iraqi regional talks.
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And all the time he was Saddam's biggest bagman. Like Howard, Downer has no shame.