Mr John Howard - A True World Leader

By George: now it's all the way with Howard J
Phillip Coorey

September 6, 2007

JOHN HOWARD, he pointed out again yesterday, first met George Bush in Washington on September 10, 2001.

We all know that the events of the next day cemented a friendship unprecedented for leaders of the US and Australia.

On the day they met, the 50th anniversary of the ANZUS treaty, Bush presented Howard with a gift - the bell from the USS Canberra. It was the only US naval ship named in honour of an ally's sunken vessel.

The HMAS Canberra was sunk in 1942 in the battle of Savo Island, near Guadalcanal.

Today the US President will visit the National Maritime Museum to view the bell. It could be construed as an act of symmetry, given if Howard loses the election, this week would be the last time he and Bush see each other in their respective roles.

This was obviously apparent to Bush, who arrived in Australia in a chipper mood.

"We're kicking ass," he told Mark Vaile on the tarmac after the Deputy Prime Minister inquired politely of the President's stopover in Iraq en route to Sydney.

Despite his unpopularity in this country, Bush used yesterday's media conference with Howard to try to bolster the Prime Minister's electoral prospects in the next poll.

Labor was quite happy at the spectre of one unpopular leader backing another but should not underestimate the defiance and polished performance Bush is able to muster.

On Iraq, climate change, Kyoto and nuclear power, he backed Howard to the hilt. He claimed diplomatically he did not want to interfere in the Australian election and said he looked forward to today's meeting with Kevin Rudd.

Rudd believes Afghanistan is a worthy war while Iraq is not.

Bush said they were "both theatres in the same war".

Rudd believes Australia should ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Bush said claims he and Howard didn't care about climate change because they would not ratify Kyoto was preposterous urban legend.

Bush backed Howard's argument that nuclear power must be contemplated if climate change were to be taken seriously.

Apart from his introductory remarks, Howard never spoke during the press conference. It was the George W.Bush show.

His defiance on Iraq is growing. He implied that those who argued against the war in the first place had no role in the current debate.

Perhaps encouraged by the expectation that he will soon be able to withdraw some troops and claim success, regardless of what the rest of the world believes, Bush appeared as a man who has convinced himself he is on the right track and will crash or crash through.

It was equally apparent he would rather have Howard, the only other leader from the original coalition of the willing still standing, with him for the remainder of the journey.

SMH