I'll let Mr. Downer speak for himself.
Brushing aside the furious response to earlier comments pointing the finger at Madrid, Alexander Downer, the foreign minister, said he would not apologize. He said Spain and the Philippines needed "to face up to the truth" that by withdrawing their contingents from Iraq they had allowed themselves to be exploited by terrorists. "There is no point in trying to scurry away from the truth," Mr.Downer said. "I am sensitive about the fact that terrorists use the examples of Spain and the Philippines to put pressure on Australia. If you accede to the demands of terrorists, they will exploit the acceding to their demand . . . We are not going to apologize. We shall let bygones be bygones."
Tell it, brother.
Mr. Downer rejected suggestions that he had provoked a diplomatic crisis and implicitly accused others of immaturity. "Australia is a mature country," he said. "We do not have to worry too much when other countries criticize us occasionally."
"Sticks and stones..." |