October 10, 2004

Australia's breathtaking victory

By A.M. Mora y Leon
In states that export terrorists, tyrants in moribund certainty know there's no need to be accountable to citizens so long as they hold power. But not so in the West, where leaders are put to the electoral test. It's particularly poignant for the Coalition of the Willing, all three of whose leading members — Howard, Bush and Blair — face close elections. Would their publics support them, as the antiwar movement and Axis of Weasels insist they wouldn't? So all the world watched intently as the first test was given in Australia and the results rolled in Saturday morning. The resounding victory for Prime Minister John Howard was the people's verdict on the war on terror, the rightness of staying the course, and the necessity of victory. Bear in mind that Howard's test was a bruising one and whether he would win was uncertain. Howard had to stand up to different varieties of opponents who criticized battlefield losses in Iraq, launched loud antiwar demonstrations, blew up...(Read Full Article)