Australia Leader Squirms Under Bush Laud

[lebkuchen]

(Will the Bushies, once again, refer to John Howard as "John Major" during the Chimp's visit? Stay tuned.)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031018/ap_on_re_as/asian_summit_sheriff_1

BANGKOK, Thailand - As a Texan, President Bush (news - web sites) thought he was handing out high praise to one of his closest allies: Australia, he declared, is nothing less than a "sheriff" in the U.S.-led war on terror.

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For days, Howard has tried to shake off the praise, insisting that while he is pro-American he also has an independent mind.

"I don't see this country as being a sheriff, a deputy sheriff, as having any kind of enforcement role in our region," Howard told reporters before he left for the Bangkok summit on Saturday.