Image from SMH
By Situation Theatre 27/8/2019
Nothing de-escalates tension quite like a US-led coalition.
Over the weekend Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne took to Insiders to insist Australia’s military deployment in the Strait of Hormuz was all about “de-escalating tensions” in the region rather than proudly following a total madman into yet another insane tragedy.
Payne dropped the phrase more times than all the bombs dropped on Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
“The at a time of a rising and assertive China here in our region, why is Australia signing up to yet another US-led mission in the Middle East?”@frankelly08 questions Foreign Minister @MarisePayne over the government’s decision to deploy troops to the #StraitOfHormuz pic.twitter.com/JTflMzmZNG
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) August 24, 2019
Much like the two million civilians who died during the twenty year war in Vietnam and the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed during the eight years of the war in Iraq, Iranians are expecting to reap the rewards of the unique capacity of the US and Australian armed forces to calm a dangerous situation.
We really are the chamomile tea of imperial alliances.