"RICHARD Armitage, you are out of order " !

[the Kelly Gang]

Michael Costello: First strike on democracy

July 09, 2004
"RICHARD Armitage, you are out of order. You are totally out of order. In publicly stating to Australian reporters "you know as well as I do the Labor Party is split on this issue" - that is, the withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq - and that he understood from private discussions with Labor figures that the ALP is rent down the middle, Armitage has broken every rule in the diplomatic book.

He has interfered in Australia's domestic politics. He has handed a political baseball bat to John Howard to beat Labor, and in the run-up to a federal election he has caused serious embarrassment to the alternative Australian government and its leader.

Why?

Armitage is the US Deputy Secretary of State but for many long years he has been a great friend to Australia on both sides of politics. He is an honourable man of great personal courage and decency and, although on the conservative side of politics, he is not associated with the maddies of the Republican Right. "


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10080780%5E7583,00.html

[struggle4progress]

1. Background: Armitage had said the Labor party was split ...

... over withdrawal of troops from Iraq:

<snip>
"You know as well as I do that the Labor Party is split on these questions. I saw colleagues who were here recently; we had private discussions. It looked to me like the party was rent down the middle."
Mr Armitage declined to say which Australians had given him that advice, saying only: "It's not as if anyone's playing hide the sausage . (They're) speaking very candidly and plainly."
<snip>
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/07/1089000225631.html


For "playing hide the sausage" see
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A5176