The Great Fascist’s last groupie by Tim Anderson

Forty-five years ago - in the middle of a bloody war that would go on to cost more than two million lives - an Australian Prime Minister declared undying loyalty to Washington. Conservative Prime Minister Harold Holt said he would go ‘all the way’ with the then US President, Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Today - with most of Asia, almost all of Latin America and most of the Arab world seeking to break free from US domination - a Labor woman Prime Minister repeats the same line. We are ‘great mates’ Julia Gillard said, reaffirming her commitment to the hopeless Afghan war. ‘We have no stronger ally than Australia’ beamed President Barrack Obama.

Having betrayed his own people and lost control of Congress, Obama is rather keen on allies. He was unable to introduce a public health system, or to withdraw from Afghanistan (instead escalating the conflict), or to close the notorious torture centre at Guantanamo. After a brief ‘honeymoon’, Obama is now despised in Latin America and the Middle East. In 2009, 45% of Arabs had a positive view of Obama; in 2010 it was down to 20%. He is steering a ‘ship’ which is really run by a vicious military-financial clique.

There is no greater disgrace for Australians than to be seen, across the world, as the Great Fascist’s last groupie. After the horrors of Iraq and Afghanistan, we are about to be drawn into new wars in Egypt and Libya. During Gillard’s visit Obama announced that the US and NATO were considering military strikes against Libya. Meantime, Obama was reported as seeking Gillard’s support for some sort of ‘action’ in Egypt.

All this, of course, is done in the name of support for ‘democracy, rights and freedoms’. Never mind that the US has long supported the greatest anti-theses of democracy in the region: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. Never mind also that polls of Arab people show very clearly that the US and Israel are seen as the greatest threats. Yet the Australian corporate media repeats the lies about ‘democracy, rights and freedoms’, without restraint.

In Latin America the same voracious war machine is at work. The Obama administration backed the 2009 military coup and subsequent fake election in Honduras, increased the military bases in Colombia and sent the fourth fleet down to intimidate the more independent Latin American countries. Only imbeciles imagine these manoeuvres have anything to do with ‘democracy, rights and freedoms’.

Gillard and Labor, for their part, have done their best to please the tiny Australian oligarchy of miners, bankers and media barons; but at great popular cost. The privatisations, corruption and imperial toady-ism have alienated millions. ‘Free market’ and ‘market mechanism’ policies have been exposed as useless and dangerous. Federal Labor’s popular support is down to 30%. Labor candidates for election do everything they can to hide the word ‘Labor’ on their propaganda.

Obama and Gillard share this: representing a pseudo-social democracy they spout the same lies, betray their followers, lose credibility and pave the way for a vicious right wing resurgence. Their toady-ism has endeared them to no-one. Neither will be re-elected. Meanwhile, we Australians have been made the laughing stock of the world, barracking for the schoolyard bully as he goes down. Who will respect or protect us then?