One of America's staunchest and most reliable allies in the War on Terror, Australia's Prime Minister John Howard, has gone down to defeat:Australian Prime Minister John Howard has suffered a humiliating election defeat and the opposition Labor Party has swept into power. Mr. Howard, who had been seeking a fifth term after 11 years of conservative rule, said he had telephoned Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd to congratulate him on his victory. "It has been an immense honour to be prime minister of Australia," he told supporters after election results showed a 6.3% swing to Labor. "We bequeath to (Mr Rudd) a nation that is stronger and prouder and more prosperous than it was 11 and a half years ago," he declared.Howard was the last of the major pre-Iraq war western leaders to exit, preceeded by Anzar of Spain, Schroder of Germany, Chirac of France, and Blair of Great Britain. Howard's unwavering support of the mission in Iraq probaby lost him some votes. But it was...(Read Full Post)