Not suprisngly a couple of dorks decided to try to make a name for themselves yesterday by interrupting President Bush’s address to the Australian parliament. Their gripe? You guessed it, that we removed Saddam Hussein. (EFL)
As thousands of anti-war demonstrators protested outside Parliament, President Bush thanked Australia on Thursday for sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan to stand and fight alongside the United States "instead of wishing and waiting while tragedy drew closer." Bush personally saluted Prime Minister John Howard as "a leader of exceptional courage" for not buckling earlier this year to his nation’s largest peace marches since the Vietnam War. Instead, Howard sent 2,000 troops to Iraq.
Forty-one opposition lawmakers signed a letter criticizing Bush’s war decision, saying the war was conducted on the basis of a clear and present danger in Iraq that did not exist. But Bush shot back in his speech that "Saddam Hussein’s regime is gone and no one should mourn its passing." Outside Parliament, thousands of demonstrators banged drums and shouted at the president from security lines 100 yards away from where Bush entered. Other protesters jostled with security officials outside the U.S. embassy compound where Bush stayed overnight. Inside Parliament, two Green Party senators shouted war protests at Bush during his speech and were ordered removed, but refused to go. One of them, maverick Sen. Bob Brown, interrupted Bush to say "we are not a sheriff" — a reference to Bush’s recent description of Howard. Bush smiled during the interruptions and said, "I love free speech." |