Could Australia's long-standing alliance with the United States rupture? It's not likely, but not unthinkable either. An Australian election looms, with security policy as a major issue. The Labor Party, out of power since 1996, is desperate for a win. The polls portend a close race.
The new Labor leader, Mark Latham, was a critic of Australia's participation in the Iraq war, and often swapped invective with the U.S. ambassador to Australia. Latham says, if elected, he will withdraw the remaining 800 or so Australian forces from Iraq.
That statement drew a strong response from U.S. President George W. Bush, with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard at his side. Few in Washington have forgotten how the Spanish electorate in March recoiled at the Madrid bombings perpetrated by al-Qaeda affiliates: It elected a Socialist government that promptly withdrew Spanish forces from Iraq.