Nick Bisley, Head of the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Legal Studies at La Trobe University, responds to Sam Roggeveen's piece noting President Obama's description of the US-Israel alliance as 'eternal':
Don't forget that in her speech to the US Congress, Gillard also struck the eternal note; we're with the US forever too!:
"Those of you who have spent time with Australians know that we are not given to overstatement. By nature we are laconic speakers and by conviction we are realistic thinkers. In both our countries, real mates talk straight. We mean what we say.
You have an ally in Australia. An ally for war and peace. An ally for hardship and prosperity. An ally for the sixty years past and Australia is an ally for all the years to come. Geography and history alone could never explain the strength of the commitment between us. Rather, our values are shared and our people are friends. This is the heart of our alliance. This is why in our darkest days we have been glad to see each other’s face and hear each other’s voice. Australia’s darkest days in the last century followed the fall of Singapore in 1942. And you were with us."