Fear America

"Australians are as just as concerned about United States foreign policy as Islamic extremism and regard the US as more dangerous than a rising China, according to a new poll." It's a sign that recent Bush administration adventurism and illegalities, from Iraq to Guantanamo Bay, are causing uncertainty here. This is not about moral equivalence, but rather the welcome failure of the Howard government to convince us that America is our saviour and a sole force for good in the world along with the legitimate fear of a terrorist attack.

The poll was commissioned by the Lowy Institute for Public Policy. Its executive director, Alan Gyngell, said yesterday that he suspected the results would have been different during the presidency of Bill Clinton. He sounded somehow disappointed that the Howard government hadn't convinced enough people of the Bush doctrine.