Furthermore, war between the US and China would place us (Australia) in a diabolical position, where neutrality is difficult but breaking our ties with China would be unthinkable and reneging on our alliances with the US impossible. It is the nightmare scenario for any Australian Prime Minister.

Also, the unpopularity of the Iraq War is deceptive. Speaking as a voter who followed the '07 elections very closely, I would posit that the depth of that unpopularity (broad as it was) was very minor. It did not play a large role in the election, in its advertising or in its debates.

Certainly, the depth of anti-American sentiment in Australia is nothing compared to that of your European allies already in NATO.

Cernig:
"Yet both are involved in Afghanistan and the French recently committed to sending more troops - a counterexample to his argument."

You are being deceptive.

Both of their committments are limited, especially given the size of both nations. Furthermore, Germany's are on very rapid rotations that do not extend much beyond own force protection, considerably less than that of the Dutch, Canadians or even Australians, all much small nations.

France's extra committment is coming on the backs of their new leader Sarkozy, who is something of an aberration for French politics, pro-American as he is. It is worth noting though, that during the French-brokered peacekeeping force for Lebanon, France initially attempted to skimp with a very token force until the international reaction guilt-tripped them into contributing the bulk of the force.

Whilst we can all take heart at the election of Sarkozy and the contribution of more troops, there is still the matter of how permanent this shift in French sentiment is and also the Rules of Engagement their troops will follow in Afghanistan.

I mean really guys, come on, when France and Germany's contribution to something as elementary as Afghanistan is outmatched by Canada or the Netherlands, something has hit the fan.

Seriously.

I think what you really have is the concept of a democracies only UN the McCain floated a couple of weeks ago.

I think the degree to which the Iraq War was unpopular in Australia is actually often quite seriously under-recognised in a lot of American commentary on this issue. Although John Howard paid less of an immediate price than Tony Blair for his support of the invasion, the war was actually no more popular in Australia than it was in the United Kingdom. Indeed, some polls seem to indicate that it enjoyed more support among the British public than among Australians.

I also think that the extent of pro-Americanism among the Australian public tends to be overstated, possibly due to the increased recent strategic co-operation between the two countries due to shared regional security concerns. At least one recent (post Iraq invasion) poll detailing Australian attitudes toward foreign powers saw the USA doing reasonably well when it came to positive perceptions measured on an absolute scale, but far less well when ranked relatively against other powers – most notably, China was actually more favourably viewed than the USA, which I think flies in the face of many of the assumptions that enjoy common currency when Australia is being discussed.

Murdoch's visa should be yanked and he should be deported immediately.

If NATO is simply to provide more muscle for English-speaking neoconservative and neoliberal adventurism, maybe it would be better to let it die. Or maybe we should be looking for a NATO that isn't expected simply to provide foreign support for such adventures.

I'll take a leaf from you, James, and propose that NATO would serve better retooled as a peacekeeping/humanitarian/reconstructive alliance. I'm fairly sure most of the Euro-nations would be happier to back such a repurposing than the one Murdoch proposes.

Regards, C

“We must face up to a painful truth: Europe no longer has either the political will or social culture to support military engagements in defense of itself and its allies."

You know, I've heard this said a thousand times. What I haven't seen, however, is evidence to back it up apart from a general relucantance to follow the U.S.'s lead into Iraq.