This is Australian news relevant to the WOT and probably happening under the radar of the american news sources. There are a number of more or less failed states in the south pacific that Australia under Howard has decided that it needs to fix in order stop them becoming havens for terrorists (and illegal immigrants - something the USA should take note of). One of those is the Solomon Islands where Auralia send a task force of primariy police about 6 months ago. All the indications are that it was a genuine sucess and the Solomons are much safer place than it was and its citizens are much better off. Australia is also spending big bucks by Australian standards on trying to fix PNG a much harder problem.
PRIME Minister John Howard pledged Monday to maintain Australian assistance in the Solomon Islands as long as it was necessary. Howard flew in for a brief two-hour visit in which he met Australian defence force, police and civilian personnel involved in the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). He told troops they would be brought home as soon as it was thought safe, but was not prepared to estimate when that would be. "We’ll stay here for as long as is necessary to complete the job," Howard said. "We have no intention of prematurely terminating our commitment. We’ll stay the distance. Obviously as the situation continues to remain stable there are opportunities for further draw-downs of personnel but it won’t be done with any particular timetable in mind."
He said there was still a lot of work to be done, and securing the long-term economic recovery of the country was a crucial challenge. Howard said the size of the intervention with some 2,000 personnel, which was criticised as excessive by some Pacific leaders, made it very clear Australia considered the issue serious. "If we’d have intervened with fewer people, I don't think it would have been anywhere near as successful. I think that was an absolute crucial element of the intervention," he said.
The Australian leader emphasised Canberra’s new-found hands-on approach to the Pacific, telling RAMSI personnel they shared a responsibility to the region. "This is our patch. This is our part of the world, for which the countries of the Pacific have a particular responsibility. If we’re not willing to help our friends who need help, then nobody else will," Howard said. "It’s a proper obligation, a proper intervention by Australia and other countries. We’re not trying to throw our weight around, we’re trying to help."
Howard played down parallels with last month’s visit by US President George Bush to US troops in Iraq, saying he had not brought a turkey but he did have a quantity of Australian beer to be distributed among the troops. "I wanted in a very simple way to say thank you to these men and women and to convey Christmas good wishes to them on behalf of their fellow Australians."
Note the similarities to Bush’s statements on Iraq. BTW this is getting zero coverage on TV news here. Its a clear success and thats bad news to the fellow travelers of the Left |