Politicians across the world behave according to the standards that are placed upon them by the electorate, the media, the democratic framework and special interest groups. In Australia, there is an absence of quality and meaningful debate on public policy in general and foreign policy in particular. This means that politicians and their advisers can sometimes get away with poor policy decisions and actions that are not in the national interest. The culture of denying the community the right to shape public policy needs to change. OLO is to be congratulated for giving voice to writers and communities in relation to public policy and foreign policy.

That Australia is hand-in-hand with the U.S. will eventually come back to haunt us.

The U.S. is a nation driven by greed: greed for power and greed for treasure. Its leaders, in the main, are psychopaths and its people, in the main, are either brain-dead or hopelessly indoctrinated.

Because of American stupidity and imperialism, the world is being drawn into a nuclear arms race that no one can win. Human extinction is guaranteed.

Isn't it time for you to join the dots?

Having joined the dots as David G has done and come to the same conclusion, I still can't figure WHY India won't sign on to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Anyone know?

I have no idea why India won't sign the NPT, but Iran has signed it, and signed additional protocols into the bargain. The result is that not only are we ready to sell uranium to non-signatory India, but we wouldn't sell to signatory Iran under any circumstances (not that they need it or are asking for it).
And it looks and sounds like we are champing at the bit to follow the US and Israel into starting another unnecessary war, this time with Iran.
So much for our "independent" seat at the UN.

Dear EmperorJulian

It's quite simple: Pakistan - India's arch enemy - has the bomb and is seen by India as it's major threat.

Anything to appease the miners and get India to send more students to be fleeced by shonky education providers.