Ms Fixit

Thanks to WikiLeaks we now have a first hand account of USrael's bitch down under, sucking up to, and running errands for, her man. (See my 26/2/08 post Israeli Cluster Bombs in Australian Arsenals?) Sick-making:

"Australia secretly worked with the United States to weaken a key international treaty to ban cluster bombs, leaked US diplomatic cables show. Despite taking a high-profile stance against cluster munitions - condemned as the cause of large numbers of civilian casualties - Australia was privately prepared to pull out of international negotiations on a global ban of the weapons if this threatened ties with US forces... Diplomatic cables from the US embassy in Canberra... reveal Kevin Rudd's newly elected government in 2007 immediately told the US it was prepared to withdraw from the negotiations if key 'red line' issues were not addressed - especially the inclusion of a loophole to allow signatories to the convention to co-operate with military forces using cluster bombs...

"The US embassy in Canberra expressed appreciation for Labor's position in February 2008, which was considered critical to efforts to defeat 'hardline' countries and non-government organisations seeking a comprehensive ban. The US diplomatic reports show Australia secretly lobbied Asian countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, on the issue and Canberra sought advice from Washington on which African countries engaged in military cooperation with the US might be recruited to vote with Australia on key parts of the treaty text... In April 2008, a Foreign Affairs arms control expert... told the US embassy that Australia 'shared US frustration and concern with Germany's obstinacy' on the issue of defence co-operation, and that Australia would make formal representations to Berlin once the US had provided Canberra with 'specific' points to raise." (Canberra lobbied secretly to dilute cluster bomb ban, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 2/5/11)