Insults the Americans will accept

Australia’s Foreign Minister told an inquiry, yesterday in Sydney, that an American serviceman in post-Saddam Baghdad, Captain Blake Puckett’s warning of Australian corruption was ignored because: "Because this was information provided by a captain in the US Army, a junior officer in the US Army."

This comes just one day after Deputy PM and Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, said that he didn’t trust the American’s because; “…aggressive complaints by the US were simply a means of deflecting criticism of the huge subsidies the US wheat industry received." Don’t trust Americans…

These men are effectively numbers 2 and 3 in Australia’s power hierarchy, and they are charged with various aspects of the countries relationships around the world. That they both see fit to belittle the US, its government and its military personnel is curious.

Even more curious is that these insults have elicited no response from the US. Nothing from the new Ambassador in Canberra, no diplomatic notes dispatched from State, nothing out of the White House or the Pentagon.

There are no nationalistic congressmen or celebrated vets calling foul, no ranting editorials, not even the odd paragraph so far as I can see. And it is not that Australia is too far away, or of no real significance. Rice graced the sunny shores not even two weeks ago. She sat and had a delightful ‘Tête á Tête’ with Downer, according to picture reports. Bush will be looking to Australia again if he embarks on another mid eastern adventure, to shore up his support base.

It’s not even that the US media didn’t cover the story, but any mention of Captain Plukett was ‘in passing’ and of no significance and Vaile was pretty much ignored as he is everywhere.

So the precedent has been set now, the US and its military personnel are obviously fair game for any foreign official who is desperate to cover his arse. I wish Senator Tom Harkin all the best in his assault on the whole sordid affair, but I fear no one will be listening.