The US-Australian Alliance has “a foundation deeper than the policies or political parties of the day”, according to the United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns.
Addressing the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Burns said he was “impressed by the new Australian cabinet”. He said “Australia is as good a friend to the US as any country in the world” and there is “no reason for that to change”. [Read more…]
President George W. Bush has announced that 20,000 US combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraq, commencing this month.
Delivering a televised address from the White House, Bush made no mention of when the remaining American forces would be withdrawn.
The occupation force will still be larger than it was before the troop “surge” earlier this year.
Bush said that the role of the US troops would shift from patrolling Iraqi neighborhoods to providing support for Iraqi troops. The American force would turn its attention to hunting down Al Qaeda terrorists, he said. [Read more…]