I was referring to your statement that AUS were a close ally of the US. Comparing your situation with ours I thought it's actually nice if you can say that and be confident that you won't be alone should something happen. There doesn't seem to be any doubt in AUS. Such a conviction runs counter to what my country and the EU can hope for. That's why I was asking what makes you sure about that? The EU as a whole has no allies and member states are deeply divided among themselves on many issues including strategic ones. That raises the question as to what extent EU-member states can rely on one another in times of crisis let alone pinning their hopes on external allies? In the link you gave in the other thread (Australia will always...) Rudd and Morrison are quoted as saying they would always choose the US as a strategic partner. Yet doesn't it take two to tango? What makes them sure that the US will be interested and also choose them?
Those Commies are at it again.. trying to further erode Australia's economy with its latest export boycott.. our coal. There are also reports the CCP has ordered its spinning mills not to accept Australian cotton. When will this stop and why is something not being done about it. Are we in the Free World going to allow the CCP to run roughshod over us because we may have stood on its foot. Where is the United Nations and when will the World Trade Organisation step in and put a stop to what China is doing. It is moral blackmail.. pure and simple. My question is why is Beijing signalling out only Australia to further hurt our already struggling economy due to the pandemic and punish hard working Australian farmers and miners. I dont hear of similar punishment to American, Japanese or Indian farmers or miners. This latest export ban salvo by Beijing is likely due to Australia's involvement in the recent QUAD military drills in the Philippine Sea. What is The QUAD and what are its aims. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or QSD or QUAD is an informal strategic forum between the four member nations that is maintained by semi-regular summits, information exchanges and military drills. It was established in 2007 by the then leaders of the four member states but was dropped a year later. It was not revived until as recently as 2017 when President Donald Trump of the United States, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull decided something was needed to counter Beijing's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. Tensions were raised between the four nations and Beijing because of recent QUAD military drills in the Philippine Sea.
The Chines has bought Australian leaders and are forcing their police type action on Australian people with lock downs that could only be done in China. No one can solve the problems in Australia except Australians. Crimes against humanity. Australians need to say we are mad as hell and we will not take it anymore. Don't let fear take away your freedom.
The US has already chosen Australia Thomas thru its joint QUAD arrangement as the above article explains.
Australia can count itself lucky because it benefits from a strategic turn of the US towards the Pacific region.
What are allies for. Australia and the US have had a strong relationship since 1942 when we jointly removed the Japanese from the Coral Sea and then New Guinea spoiling a certain invasion of the Australian mainland. Gen. MacArthur called our diggers "cowards'' but retracted his absurd statement after the Australian Army stopped the invading Japanese Army at Kokoda and then forced them from the NG islands after crushing victories at Buna & Gona. This was the first time the Japanese had been stopped in their land advance since the start of the Pacific War.
You never know, Craig. Just see what's happening in NATO Europe: Former allies are now considered "enemies" by the US.
I don't think they're considered enemies. I think we think they ought to contribute to their defense in a farer way.
Four babies die do to the lock down in Australia. Refused by medical service because of lock down. https://www.anti-empire.com/four-ne...-lockdowners-denied-them-life-saving-surgery/
I listened to that twice; I did not hear him say that Germany is the enemy. He said Germany WAS the enemy in WWII; no surprise there.
If looked at superficially, yes he did. But what matters is the context in which something is said and the agenda pursued. Why did he refer to WWII and Germany as the enemy at all? There was not the slightest reason for it other than to give him a chance of labelling Germany as "the enemy" because of current political affairs he didn't like and his intention to ensnare Russia. The context was threefold: a) Germany's allegedly inadequate defense spending, b) its energy policy, and c) Trump's lobbying for closer US-Russian relations at the time. He didn't like Germany's position on energy supply and defense and made a comparison which was completely out of place. But, rhetorically, making this reference allowed him to use an emotionally charged word, as he often does. Once a word has been said it has the desired effect. It would be naive to think that that was just a coincidence. It's rather part of his well-known rhetoric and political framing. Part of the wider context in which all that needs to be seen was that absurd remark about Germany, a close ally of the US, being a "captive of Russia". Nothing could be further from the truth. He knows that but, again, said it for effect. It was understood in this way the world over as can be seen in the reactions to it in the aftermath.