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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (582569)	6/13/2004 1:57:27 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

But in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp television, Powell stopped short of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's recent statement that withdrawal of Australian troops could put the countries' 53-year-old alliance at risk. This is exactly the kind of foreign policy that got us into trouble in the first place. Apparently, with this administration, its my way or the highway and you're only as good as your last contribution to our well being. Is that how your friendships work? ********************************************************* Powell: Australian Exit from Iraq Won't Hurt U.S. Ties Sun Jun 13, 2004 07:51 AM ET (Page 1 of 2) By Michael Byrnes SYDNEY (Reuters) - The United States will maintain close relations with Australia even if a new government withdraws Australian troops from Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell said. Powell reiterated statements by President Bush that the withdrawal of Australian troops by a Labor government, that might win in a election later this year, would be "disastrous." But in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp television, Powell stopped short of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's recent statement that withdrawal of Australian troops could put the countries' 53-year-old alliance at risk. "Australia will always be a close friend of the U.S. and we are participating in so many ways with Australia and in so many different areas," Powell said in the interview broadcast on Sunday. "We would always have discussions with whoever the prime minister of Australia is and we will always respect the decision of the Australian people as to how they would be led or the policies their leader would pursue," he said. Powell said in the interview broadcast on Sunday. Last Thursday, Armitage asked Australians to imagine what life would be like without the alliance with the United States and without close sharing of intelligence on security threats. The conservative government of Prime Minister John Howard, a strong supporter of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, has 850 soldiers in and around Iraq and has stated they will be kept there "until the job is done." Labor opposition leader Mark Latham says he will bring the troops home by Christmas.** "If Australian troops were removed from the campaign effort we have underway now in Iraq, it would be a disaster, a political disaster," Powell said. "It would be disastrous for Australia to say 'Well, we see this international consensus, we see this new (U.N.) resolution but we are going to head for the door'," he said from Washington. Continued ... © Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved. reuters.com