Posted on 05/21/2006 5:12:23 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
PRIME Minister John Howard has urged the West not to be so cynical about Iraq following the first meeting of new Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet.
The ratification of the new government was a true milestone on Iraq's hard march towards a more hopeful future, Mr Howard said, noting that the Iraqi people have voted in democratic elections three times despite violent intimidation.
He wrote to Mr al-Maliki today promising continued Australian support for the nation as it attempts to rebuild.
"We tend to forget how long it has taken other societies to fully embrace democracy," Mr Howard told reporters in Dublin.
"We're too hard on the Iraqis. The cynics in the West are unreasonable, they're over demanding, their expectations are far too high.
"They forget history and they forget how long it has taken countries that are now accepted entrenched democracies to fully embrace it, and I think this is an occasion where the world should applaud the courage of the Iraqis."
Mr Howard said he could only hope that Mr al-Maliki's government is successful.
"I have written to him today congratulating him, assuring him that Australia will go the distance in helping Iraq and that means that we're not going to become slaves to artificial deadlines about troop withdrawals," he said.
"We will withdraw our forces, we will reduce them when the circumstances suggest that that might be possible.
"But this is a very important day, a very important weekend for the people of Iraq and the world should be a little more generous in praising them for what they have achieved, a little less critical, a little less cynical, a little less desirous of finding fault because of its disagreement with the action of the American-led coalition."
America declared indpendence in 1776. We were still fighting the British in 1812.
Iraqis fight foreign agents who wear no uniform and march under no flag. The "war" in Iraq is not a war in the conventional sense any more than the rise of the KKK in the Reconstruction era South constituted any notion of a "war" or in anyway invalidated the Civil War that preceded it.
That is, until he gets voted out of office.
Democracies make such dependable allies.
I haven't heard suggestions Howard will be booted out any time soon...
"America declared indpendence in 1776. We were still fighting the British in 1812."
No. The British were impressing our seamen during the period between the end of the Revolutionary war (1783) and the war of 1812---we were not fighting the British during that period.
"Iraqis fight foreign agents who wear no uniform and march under no flag. The "war" in Iraq is not a war in the conventional sense any more than the rise of the KKK in the Reconstruction era South constituted any notion of a "war" or in anyway invalidated the Civil War that preceded it."
True, except for one thing. These days, the enemies of the US are extremely well established inside our country. They run our media. They run one of our 2 political parties. The same enemies are even better established in Europe---and they are fighting us in Iraq. The effectiveness of our enemies must be gauged by adding up all of their forces---subversive combined with overt.
As opposed to Dictatorships. Which make dependable allies until the people rise up and overthrow them
>>They forget history
Many, if not most, never knew it in the first place.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.