Howard Supports American Leadership

Australian Prime Minister John Howard released a notably pro-American statement on the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks:
“A superpower will always attract its critics. But those who rage against the United States for its reach and power pay scant regard to its ideals. It may not be fashionable to say it but America has long been a force for good in international relations. Australians are grateful to the United States because it saved us during the Second World War. But we should also be grateful that, since that time, the world’s most powerful country has been not an imperial power but a vibrant democracy, an outward-looking society and a nation committed to the fundamental values of a liberal democracy.
“There may be some aspects of the American way of life which Australians do not wish to emulate. And there may have been times when America has failed to live up to the high standards it sets for itself. But the question that those who oppose American leadership must ask is simple: who else would they prefer in the role of the world’s superpower?”

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