An Australian-led force has broken the reign of gangsters and warlords terrorizing the Solomon Islands, paving the way for the small South Pacific nation to start battling corruption, its foreign minister said Wednesday. The force - the biggest multinational troop deployment in the South Pacific since World War II - was brought in at the invitation of the Solomons’ government to end lawlessness that has paralyzed and nearly bankrupted the archipelago in the aftermath of a coup in 2000. Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Laurie Chan told the U.N. General Assembly that since the regional mission was launched in July, ``security in terms of law and order has been re-established and the government’s finances are beginning to stabilize.’’
Amazing what a little head-thumping will do.
The Australian government, which faced opposition at home for its participation in the U.S.-led war in Iraq, was in charge of the 2,300-member force.
The gratuitous slap. Al-Guardian can’t quite bring itself to recognize the Aussies as a force for good.
The pro-active move was a change in regional policy for Australia, which for decades had stringently avoided any overt military action in its region, fearing it would be labeled a neocolonial power. But Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s government felt the Solomons situation posed too great a danger, and he acted at the invitation of the Solomons’ government and with the blessing of all governments in the region.
Good show, mates!
Damn quick show, too. I'd barely gotten my popcorn and found my seat, and there are the credits rolling... |
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