| Submit your comments on this article |
| Down Under |
| Button the Hatches: Ozzie Howard Says "I'll Act without UN Approval" |
| 2005-09-16 |
| Australia will always reserve the right to act without United Nations approval if it sees the need for another "coalition of the willing" action such as the invasion of Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard says. With the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations about to wind up at the world summit in New York, Mr Howard said that nothing he had seen or heard this week had changed his mind about the limited role of international bodies. Australia joined the United States, Britain and Spain in invading Iraq in 2003 without the UN's sanction after Saddam Hussein allegedly failed to comply with UN resolutions on weapons of mass destruction (WMD). No WMD were ever found but Mr Howard said Australia would do the same again if it believed it was the only way to get something done. "I believe in the UN when it works," he told reporters after a two-and-a-half hour round table discussion with world leaders including British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There are some circumstances where it does not work and you have to reserve the right for coalitions of the willing or whatever you want to describe it - you have to." Are you listening Iran and Syria? Mr Howard cited the case of Kosovo when foreign forces intervened to stop ethnic cleansing in Serbia without a UN Security Council resolution authorising the action. "Quite plainly, the UN, because of its institutional structure, wasn't going to be able to authorise certain things being done which clearly were required to be done," he said. "I'm not anti-United Nations, I'm just anti a belief that only the United Nations can deal with issues, because plainly there are circumstances where it can't because of its structure and because of the need to have a political consensus." |
| Posted by:Captain America |
| #9 Play ball against them and lose all your teeth... ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-09-16 23:02 |
| #8 CA - Not only are the Aussies our best Ally's but play ball with them some time. Ferociously loyal teammates. |
| Posted by: Rightwing 2005-09-16 09:07 |
| #7 And to think Australia could have had the unstable and violent Mark Latham as PM. Tim Blair has the latest. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-09-16 04:14 |
| #6 After the American Revolution, Canada got the Tories that left the USA and Australia got the convicts that could no longer be shipped to the USA. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-09-16 02:47 |
| #5 Aussies are our best ally, hands down. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-16 02:33 |
| #4 Uniregum Hupinese, there are two traditions in old style Australian politics- the English and the Irish. To generalise, the English tradition has evolved into Howards (conservative) Liberal Party, and the Irish strand into the leftish Labor Party. John Howard is totally from the English- Anglican- conservative strand of Australian politics. His middle name is Winston! The Irish originated- largely Catholic- pacifistic Labor Party is spineless by comparison. Though on an individual level, the Irish influence on our national character is profound. But as far as current day politics, there is not much influence. Much generalisation, postwar immigration ignored and very much IMO! |
| Posted by: Grunter 2005-09-16 02:07 |
| #3 Wow! Compare/Contrast with the euros. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2005-09-16 01:31 |
| #2 I wonder if the striking difference in temperment between the Aussies and the Canucks results from demographics. The Aussies got the Irish and the Canadians got the French. |
| Posted by: Uneregum Hupinese5748 2005-09-16 01:19 |
| #1 If the Aussies are ever crazy enough to throw you out, why don't you move to the US? A quick little Constitutional amendment and... |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-09-16 00:09 |