Australia: Howard defiant: I would launch (pre-emptive )strike

[the Kelly Gang]

Howard defiant: I would launch strike
By Brendan Nicholson
National Security Correspondent
September 20, 2004

Pre-emptive strike 'high risk' policy
Labor unveils $373 million defence boost
Anti-terror squads to police Asia
Election 2004: Vote now

Prime Minister John Howard has restated his willingness to launch a pre-emptive military strike on a neighbouring country if terrorists there were planning to attack Australia.

And he insisted that he would be more reliable, stronger and more unequivocal on issues of national security than Labor leader Mark Latham.

Mr Howard called a media conference yesterday to reject a claim by Mr Latham that the Prime Minister had "backed away" from a doctrine of pre-emption in the region.

The Prime Minister suggested in December 2002 that he would be willing to order a pre-emptive strike to prevent an attack by an organisation such as Jemaah Islamiah, responsible for the Bali bombing and allegedly the recent bombing of Australia's embassy in Jakarta.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/19/1095532176122.html

[bemildred]

1. Let him be "defiant" as a private citizen. nt

[Minstrel Boy]

2. "Little Hitler, what's the matter now?"

Anyone else reminded of the Nick Lowe song?

Or maybe Elvis Costello's: "Two little Hitlers will fight it out until, one little Hitler does the other one's will."

[kikiek]

3. They must have a much bigger military than I imagined.

[rooboy]

5. According to an ex Air Force friend of mine...

we have some capability to defend Sydney, and that's about it. The rest of us have to either run into the desert or swim into the sea.

Or learn to speak Indonesian.

[Aidoneus]

7. 200,000,000 Indonesians, millions more other neighbors..

how many Australians?--about 20mil?

Pretty reckless talk for Howard to make, considering those odds.

[kikiek]

8. You been working on that Indonesian I take it? At least be able to say

say "Howard is an ass". We really need estrogen in the drinking water to calm some of these men down.

[Violet_Crumble]

17. Salamat pagi dari Canberra!

I'm set! ;)

[interupt]

4. I smell a wedge(ie)

1. Declare your hard on terrorism...check
2. Get your Foreign Minister to insult foreign leaders.....check
3. Tell foreign leaders to piss off....check
4. Say look at me Im in it for Australians....check
5. Tell Australians you will save a Tasmanian tree *(green votes...check

WIN!

:puke:

[Aidoneus]

6. this man sounds more than a bit..

rather like what he claims he'd strike against. Perhaps somebody should steal his idea.

[Polemonium]

9. Surely this will hurt the mad little man

"But asked specifically if he would send troops into Indonesia if Indonesia failed to act to prevent a terrorist attack, Mr Howard replied that he was not going to get into endless examples."

Hey, just one example would be something of note from this snake oil salesman.

nice sig line by the way

[the Kelly Gang]

10. thanks..and he's on the way out along with Georgie

[fedsron2us]

12. The Australians do not have to worry about Indonesia

when they have one billion Chinese to protect them

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-08/28/content_369581.htm

[struggle4progress]

11. He's using the friggin Bushista campaign strategy. eom

[struggle4progress]

13. Howard terror plan gets brush-off

<snip> Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said his country could deal with terrorist threats and would not allow "pre-emptive strikes" on its soil.

Indonesia and the Philippines also rejected the plan, unveiled by Australian Prime Minister John Howard. <snip>

Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Imron Cotan, reacted to the idea by saying he had been assured two years ago by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer that Australia would not send troops to intervene in other countries in the region.

The Philippines responded that existing treaties would prevent Australia going beyond intelligence-gathering and technical expertise. <snip>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3675012.stm

[Violet_Crumble]

18. Poor little Johnny. No-one understands him!

All this complaining and whining when he's clearly said he'd be planning on doing a cooperative and collaborative pre-emptive strike on another country! Like, why are they upset? Mr. Howard will ring them up and ask permission to attack them first!

"Mr Howard said Australia would always consult another country before taking any action on its soil.

"We would always cooperate and we would always collaborate, but what I have said is if there was no alternative, that is the action we would take," Mr Howard told reporters in far north Queensland."

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/21/1095651321847.html

What a wanker!

Violet...

[bagnana]

14. what hell Bush has wrought

the doctrine of "preemptive war." Its such a great idea, now endorsed by Putin, Howard, and of course Blair. This is the only thing that makes me yearn for religious doctrine to be true, because then Bush would burn in hell for his actions.

[truthisfreedom]

15. let them eat depleted uranium! if they want democracy, it's democracy they

shall get, if it's the last thing they see on this earth!

[oioioi]

16. Indonesian election today

interesting timing...

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2004/s1203573.htm