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it's a duck...
Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says it is "water off a duck's back" that the former US ambassador to Australia described him as a "control freak" who made significant blunders.
The criticisms of Mr Rudd and former foreign affairs minister Stephen Smith appear in Fairfax newspapers, which say they are contained in US cables leaked by the WikiLeaks website.
They quote the former US ambassador in Canberra saying Mr Rudd made significant foreign policy blunders, including announcing a plan for an Asia-Pacific community without consulting regional neighbours and setting up a nuclear disarmament commission without giving advance notice.
"Rudd... undoubtedly believes that with his intellect, his six years as a diplomat in the 1980s and his five years as shadow foreign minister, he has the background and the ability to direct Australia's foreign policy," said the US embassy in November.
"His performance so far, however, demonstrates that he does not have the staff or the experience to do the job properly."
- By Gus Leonisky at 8 Dec 2010 - 8:42pm
- Gus Leonisky's blog
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the us is to be blamed...
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says the United States, not WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, is to blame for the release of secret diplomatic cables.
Mr Rudd says the 39-year-old Australian cannot be held personally responsible for the release of more than 250,000 documents.
He says the leaks raise questions about the adequacy of US security.
"Mr Assange is not himself responsible for the unauthorised release of 250,000 documents from the US diplomatic communications network," said Mr Rudd, who has been criticised in one leaked cable as a "control freak".
"The Americans are responsible for that."
Mr Rudd appears to be in agreement with former prime minister John Howard, who earlier today said Mr Assange had not done anything wrong by publishing cables that contained "frank commentary".
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/08/3088461.htm
Gus: thank you Rattus...
juicyleaks
When Australian prime ministers and ministers travel overseas they are given briefing material, not only about the issues they will confront but also their interlocutors. There are three sources.
First, their relevant department provides an overall brief with potted biographies. These are fairly bland, being little more than curriculum vitaes.
The local Australian ambassador will also provide oral briefings about the people whom the prime minister or the minister will meet.
And the Office of National Assessments (ONA) will provide a couple of pages on each of the presidents, prime ministers and ministers who will participate in the meetings. These are the reports worth reading if you want to know who you will confront. They are often blunt, based on diplomatic assessments from the Australian embassy, intelligence sources and open source material, and can be quite juicy.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/america-will-kill-rudd-with-kindness-20101208-18poe.html#poll
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Gus: let's not forget that our Downer — we refer to as Clowner — was one of if not the most virulent promoter of the lie that "Saddam has weapons of mass destruction" in Australia. Possibly more than 8.000 times over the course of a couple of years, Clowner repeated the same phrase publicly, like a humourless drone... I have him in cartoons all over the place, especially this one which holds a sweet spot for me...
leaks like a sieve...
Australia's foreign minister has said the US is to blame for the release of thousands of diplomatic cables on Wikileaks, not its Australian founder, Julian Assange.
Kevin Rudd said the release raised questions about US security.
Mr Rudd said he did not "give a damn" about criticism of him in the cables.
Mr Assange, arrested in the UK over sex crime allegations in Sweden, has accused the Australian government of "disgraceful pandering" to the US.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard had earlier called Mr Assange's release of the cables "grossly irresponsible".
Over the past two weeks, Wikileaks has released thousands of classified messages from US envoys around the world, from more than 250,000 it has been given.
Washington has called their publication "irresponsible" and an "attack on the international community".
'First class job'
In an interview with Reuters news agency, Mr Rudd said: "Mr Assange is not himself responsible for the unauthorised release of 250,000 documents from the US diplomatic communications network. The Americans are responsible for that."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11945558