Greens’ Predictable Foreign Policy Position on Iran Airstrike Pulls in Criticism
Following the US military operations against Iranian targets, the Australian Greens have once again taken a position that resembles foreign policy more with critics of Western democracies than with Australia’s strategic interests. Their related remarks on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s soft appeal to a friend were, as political commentator Peter van Onselen notes, as if an army was invading Australia. This reflexive anti-Western take has become the party’s flagship, so they can no longer see the multi-dimensional reality of international security.
As the head of the centre-left government, Prime Minister Albanese knows that in a world dominated by instability, securing strong alliances is not just important, it is a must. The Prime Minister’s statement recognized the seriousness of the situation, at the same time reaffirming the partnership between Australia and the United States, a partnership that is critical for the regional and global stability. But the Greens, in turn, framed it as such support that it was the agreement being involved in aggression, besides the provocations and the wider context, of course. Their oversimplified analysis reflects distorted public dialogue as well as their profound preference for a position unclouded by any assertion of Western power, no matter the circumstances.
Van Onselen argues that this attitude is not just predictable, it is terribly naive. In identifying a targeted military action with an unprovoked invasion, the Greens overlook the real security issues that Australia and their allies have in common. Their rhetoric creates a vision of democracy where the country is never allowed to act against the enemies, thereby eliminating the very organization of international rights that allows smaller issues to be solved by the Greens freely. Apart from that, it is observable that Albanese, even regarding the party fronts, goes through the tough path with pragmatism that is needed.
The responses of the Greens underline a division that is expanding within the left politics of Australia. One of these group sides contains a Labor government which is dealing with the unpleasant tasks that come with enforcing the pledges of office and maintaining alliances. Whereas a protest group that represents no political party will feel better cursing than taking part in forming secure and viable policy outcomes. The situation reveals that during authentic crisis issues, Greens’ ideology invariably shadows it to the point where they simply cannot or refrain from acknowledging geopolitical realities clearly to their political rival. Their attitude is not peace-oriented but rather it is a strict outmoded worldview that avoids dealing with the threats to liberal democracies.
Source: Mail
