Australia, U.S. affirm alliance

[freedomnorth]

Source: Reuters

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia and the United States reaffirmed their strong alliance on Saturday, saying their security and defense partnership would not change with the election of Canberra's new government and plans for a partial withdrawal from Iraq.

The foreign and defense ministers of both countries sought to play down differences over Iraq, while on Afghanistan both sides struck the same chord, calling on Europe to dedicate more resources to the fight.

Australia also appeared ready to act as a bridge between Beijing and Washington, as Canberra's foreign minister urged both sides to have a more open dialogue and called on China for more transparency in its activities.

"The alliance between Australia and the United States is fundamental to Australia's defense, security and strategic arrangements," Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told reporters after the annual Australia-United States ministerial consultations.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSYD20367120080223

[ohio2007]

1. Australia pledges to keep troops in Afghanistan for long-term

snip

We've made it very, very clear that our commitment in Afghanistan is a long-standing one," the defense minister told reporters.

"I said in the parliament just this week what a tragedy it would be if all that we'd done in Afghanistan so far was in the end all for naught. So our commitment is a long-term one."

Australia has deployed about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, mostly in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, a former Taliban stronghold.

snip

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6359234.html


Those diggers are in the thick of the real fight with their deployment in the most dangerous home districts of the Taliban but I wonder how serious the new government will be in their stand on pulling troops out of Afghanistan in a few months as they originally stated ?