I was pleasantly surprised to read Aust FM Kevin Rudd's comments last week stating that Israel should open up their nuclear facilities to international inspection. As you can imagine, this would've certainly caused shock waves in the pro Israel foreign policy corridors of power. The mouth frothing is best exemplified by occasional Rudd foreign policy ally Greg Sheridan in The Australian click here
While Rudd's faults are well documented I've always had a soft spot for him, and feel it was a bit of a coup d'etat that propelled Gillard into the top job. I still feel to this day that the straw that broke the camel's back and led to the putsch against Rudd was the temerity he showed in criticising Israel over the Gaza flotilla fiasco. An Australian government condemning Israel is just not done.....at least not without consequences following. And so the (pro Israel) faceless Labor warlords moved against him; Feeney, Shorten, Arbib and the Member for Israel....er sorry...Melbourne Ports Michael Danby (who is old pals with Sheridan) . Rudd was powerless without factional support, as he essentially had no parliamentary allies, and so the knifing was done, and the naively pro Israel foreign policy novice Gillard installed in his place.....the King is dead, love live the Queen?
But getting back to the present, whether Rudd was genuine in his nuclear weapons remarks, or just blowing smoke to the Arab world, it is genuinely significant to have a pro Israel country like Australia on record as saying "all states in the region should adhere to the [nuclear] Non-Proliferation Treaty, and that includes Israel. And therefore their nuclear facility should be subject to International Atomic Energy Agency inspection". I mean, wow......it's like someone farting at a dinner party.....that type of behaviour is just not on!
Sheridan's pathetic attempt to try and justify Israel's flouting of international norms, yet in the same breath denounce Iran is really quite breath taking. I just wonder what historians in 200 years will make of the west's duplicity and double standards in relation to the middle east? Late 20th and early 21st century policy makers really will become figures of fun and ridicule in my view......that is assuming America and Israel don't lead us down the path of nuclear war first, and there's still humans left to study the past?
All serious people know that the path to long term prosperity in the middle east is the eradication of nuclear weapons alongside a declaration of a middle east nuclear free zone with proper international verification. But alas, sadly Israel will NEVER agree to such a thing.
That is why I was astounded that Gillard was told that she MUST not block the ALP's decision not to vote yes or no (abstain) in regard to allowing Palestine 'observer status' or whatever they call it at the UN.
ReplyDeleteBut then I realised that Western Sydney is full of Arabs/Muslims and they need their vote! And with Bob Carr being Foreign Minister, it made even more sense!
Savvas Tzionis