It is all about relationship with the US. Australia being too weak to show some leadership on this nor possessing the courage to speak open and honestly with 'friends' (including completely ignoring the elephant in the room, US farm subsidies despite all the rhetoric about free trade).

The decision to sell uranium to India is another selling job to the public, being wrapped up in 'jobs for Australians' and economic benefits despite the fact that mining has difficulty in attracting labour without going overseas.

It is all meaningless waffle and, like the decision to remain in Afghanistan, has nothing to do with the wishes of the constituency nor the best interests of Australia.

More soldiers and civilians will die as a result under the marketing of fostering peace and democracy. The US has never given a tinkers cuss about democracy in other nations as long as their own interests are served and have often been content to deal with tyrants as long as their terms are satisfied. The fact that Saddam Hussein was left in power after Kuwait, indicates the US has no feelings one way or the other about his human rights record as long as they believed Hussein was 'manageable'.

Democracy has nothing to do with it. Issue about democracy and freedoms are usually best won by the nation's peoples rather than through intervention. It is simply about power and influence which does not always come with a positive end for the people most affected, usually replacing one tyrant with another.

Friendship means being able to speak truths and an expectation of equality in the partnership. By all means foster friendship with the US as we do with China and others, but let's not always play the poor cousin in the relationship.