John Howard tells the world that he’s an independently minded leader:
When you are talking about fighting terrorism or extremism, I’m not doing that for the US or Britain. I’m doing it for Australia. It’s not a question of being a poodle. I’m nobody’s poodle. I have enough strength of my own to lead.
He is asked about military strikes against “terrorists”:
We take extreme care to be 100% sure of the target from all sources of intelligence…There is minimum collateral damage. If someone happens to be very close to [the target], that somebody is an abetter and they suffer the loss. Sometimes, indeed, women and children have been killed but they have been right next to the place. It’s not that the strike was inaccurate but they happen to be there, so therefore they are all supporters and abetters of terrorism – and therefore they have to suffer. It’s bad luck.
Actually, these comments are by Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf, but who can tell the difference?