Bill F.
If Julia Gillard opened the door for
the United States military to march into Australia, then Tony Abbott has ripped
it off its hinges.
In
their recent jaunt to the Washington headquarters of US imperialism, Abbott and
Bishop have eagerly agreed to anything and everything the US wanted. Abbott snivelled
to the media, “I want to assure the president that Australia will be an utterly
dependable ally of the United States”.
At the very least this means more US
troops based in Darwin, more permanent bases and ungraded airfields, US navy
warships and submarines stationed at Stirling naval base near Perth, drones and
surveillance planes operating from Australia’s Cocos Islands in the Indian
Ocean, a new space radar station near Exmouth, and greater involvement in the
US ballistic missile defence system.
Australian taxpayers will foot the
bill for most of this; the national defence budget was quarantined from the
budget cuts, and in fact was increased by 6%.
There will be social costs also, as
the criminal code covering US military personnel in Australia was discussed
between officials, but not completely finalised. If the formula of other
subservient countries is anything to go by, they could get away with rape,
armed robbery and even murder!
Only a pawn in their game
Abbott’s new agreement with Obama
locks Australia into the US military war plans. It automatically commits
Australia to whatever aggression or miscalculation the US embarks upon, whether
it is China, Korea or anywhere else in the region.
The agreement locks Australia into an
echo of US foreign policy. Who needs Julie Bishop as Foreign Minister when we
can have John Kerry? (That would help the budget, eh Joe?)
For example, if Japan pokes China too
hard and cops a bloody nose, the US is committed to join in. No need to ask
Australia, already a US base and now a nuclear target.
Australia is not only locked in
militarily and politically, but also financially. According to the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute, Australia buys 10% of all US weapons
exports, making it one of the best customers of military aircraft, drones,
missiles, armaments and hardware.
Then, of course, there is the $12.4
billion for 58 F35 Joint Strike Fighter planes which are barely reliable in
wind tunnel tests let alone in hostile skies.
Chaos in Iraq
Abbott did not even blush when the
subject of Iraq came up, even though he was part of the Howard government that
sent Australian troops to help US imperialism destroy the country on the basis
of lies.
Having no independent Australian
foreign policy, Abbott has to wait for the US strategists to make up their
minds if they want Australia to jump, and how high.
“The
United States is considering what an appropriate response might be. They
haven't finalised their views on what the response should be.
“They haven't requested assistance from us. It is
really quite routine for us to be in discussions with the United States when
situations like this arise. Let's see what, if any, help they might request but
obviously any request for help would be taken very seriously by us.”
No need to consult the Iraqi government. They’re just
puppets like us!
The business of state
Abbott’s busy schedule had him ringing the bell at
the New York Stock Exchange and telling the corporate fat cats that “Australia
is open for business”. Cheering on were a gang of Australian bosses from
companies such as BHP
Billiton, Lend Lease and Macquarie Group.
No visit to New York would be complete
without reporting to Rupert, so Abbott duly fronted at the Murdoch apartment
and presumably got the “good dog” pat on the head for selling out Australian
sovereignty and kicking the working class in the guts.
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