This article – released late last night, carries the tone of; “Australia, you must bow to higher master: Us.”
The US ambassador to Israel has slammed as “ill-timed” and “not OK” the announcement by Australia and other countries to recognise a Palestinian state…
When asked if the matter had been discussed President Donald Trump, Mr Hackabee said: “Absolutely, and we discussed it at state department level with the Secretary. There is an enormous level of disappointment, and some disgust.”
Here is my response:
Australia doesn’t take orders from the United States, Israel, or anyone else. We are a sovereign nation, and we decide our own foreign policy – not according to the mood in Washington, not according to who’s sitting in the Oval Office, and certainly not according to the preferences of a foreign ambassador.
The recent announcement that Australia, along with a growing list of nations, will formally recognise a Palestinian state is a decision grounded in decades of diplomacy, international law, and our commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. It is not “ill-timed” – it is long overdue. Recognition is not a radical step; it is the logical one.
The United States ambassador to Israel may feel the need to voice Washington’s displeasure, and President Trump may be stamping his feet, but neither has the right to dictate Australian foreign policy. Recognition of Palestine is not about taking sides in a zero-sum conflict – it is about affirming the basic right of a people to self-determination, and pushing toward a two-state solution that countless UN resolutions have endorsed.
For too long, great powers have tried to frame Middle East diplomacy as a game played on their terms. But Australia is not a pawn. We don’t require permission slips from the White House or lectures from foreign ambassadors before making decisions that reflect our values and our reading of the facts on the ground.
If our American friends wish to support Israel without question, that is their sovereign right. If we choose to take a different path – one supported by much of the world – that is ours. That is how sovereignty works.
Australia does not presume to tell the United States which nations it may recognise, nor how it should conduct its foreign policy.
Respect works both ways. We extend it to our allies. We expect it in return.
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Brilliantly written and well thought out. This reflects my feelings and values. And if America has no respect for our sovereignty then we should have no trust for any ongoing alliance with the USA. Trump is as likely to declare us the 52nd state as he is to hit us with massive tariffs, he has zero respect and we need to distance ourselves from him as soon as we can.
Our future should be decided by our own PM and our people, not by any foreign power, especially one as dangerous and unstable as the USA!
Not a bully state! The USA and China both need to realise we are not puppets and we are not cowards that will bow to bullying or intimidation by any state. We are proud to be Australian and we will defend our sovereignty in any way we can. Europe and the UK and Canada are far more valuable and trustworthy allies than America ever was!
Mike Huckabee, a former Fox News gasbag, Baptist pastor, an evangelical with a tertiary education in religion, is no doubt another typically American personality with a head thickened and deadened with dogma, superstition, bias, and strong conviction in regard to the narrowest of viewpoints and likely like most of his former political confrères a long-standing pocketer of largesse from the Zionist lobby… that toxic mollusk whose tentacles have invaded and enveloped every facet & quarter of American political life.
He has no option but to reflexively condemn any action which opposes Israel’s continuation of its egregious criminality.
Thank you, Sharon.
Huckabee is annoyed that Australia should seek to recognise the Palestinian people as a nation state. His objection seems to be that we didn’t first seek permission from Uncle Sam and that we didn’t consult with the US Ambassador to Australia [who at time of writing does not, in fact, exist].
Huckabee sees no contradiction whatsoever in the POTUS expending time, energy and influence in holding meetings with Vladimir Putin with a view to bringing the Ukraine war to a conclusion whilst his Nobel Peace Prize seeking President completely ignores the genocide taking place in Palestine using US supplied armaments and sophisticated weaponry against a civilian population : according to Huckabee ‘it is for the government of Israel to resolve problems in its own self defence.’
Clearly Australia’s relationship with the current US administration is strained but we must avoid the trap of sending our PM into an Oval Office ambush in Washington (although the coalition would love to see this spectacle).
The leader of some pissant little country (well, any country in fact) standing up to The Mighty Blowhard Donald? Shock! Horror!
The reality is that whatever Canberra may decide Australia’s foreign policy is, it is compromised by the secret US activities at Pine Gap where we have no say or control.
Our country has curtailed to America for far too long. Due to the media and some politicians many of our young people think we owe America!! I ask, for what?
Yes, we must not forget the contribution of the US Navy and Airforce during the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 when Australia was saved from invasion.
Our “debt” to USA was repaid in 1942 when Australian forces turned back the Japanese Imperial forces during the Kokoda campaign – the first land battle defeat experienced by the Japanese Army in WW2.
Since then Australia has contributed our military (controversially) to the US war efforts in South Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iraq (again) and now intimidating China over Taiwan.
The “debt” is more than paid!
The following links are for the benefit of those who did not learn or have forgotten their history lessons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokoda_Track_campaign
That was then – this is now.
Mediocrates, I suspect it is because of Pine Gap that the USA and Israel are unhappy with Australia not bowing down to them.
Most likely so. Other than providing the real estate, Australia has no access or control over what happens at or because of Pine Gap.
re Pine Gap, fear not! If the China hawks have their way and “things” escalate in the desired direction, then one or more Chinese missiles fired from an off-shore sub will take care of Pine Gap – the more so if the Chinese decide to irradiate the area. Bad luck tho’ if you happen to be in The Alice when that happens.