Brothers In Arms

US ambassador talks up security ties

August 2, 2007 - 4:29PM

US ambassador Robert McCallum has talked up the common security goals of the Howard government and the Bush administration, saying military ties were now at "unprecedented levels".

But Labor insists the United States-Australia alliance is bigger than the relationship between Prime Minister John Howard and US President George W Bush.

Opposition foreign spokesman Robert McClelland told a lunch in Sydney that the alliance went beyond politics and political parties.

Mr McClelland said Australia was good mates with America, but a Labor government would become a better friend by offering wise counsel, rather than simply jumping in and joining their fights.

The Howard government shares the Bush administration's commitment to the Iraq war, while Labor has indicated it will begin a phased withdrawal of troops if it wins government.

While he respected the "strong personal relationship" between Mr Howard and Mr Bush, Mr McClelland said there were risks involved in such close personal ties.

"There is a risk that that personal relationship has caused a misallocation of priorities in terms of resourcing Australia's long-term security interests," he told reporters.

Labor is anxious to show it respects the strong relationship between the countries after disparaging remarks by former Labor leader Mark Latham about Mr Bush.

Similarly, Mr McCallum has been careful not to blunder into Australian politics like his predecessor, Tom Schieffer, who was critical about Labor's attitude to the Iraq war.