from our ABC …..

Mr Downer said that he's told the Bush administration there must be no defeat in Iraq, that the United States must ensure, on behalf of the Iraqi people, that there's victory, and also that there must be stability in the region. He says it may be that the Coalition has to make some policy changes here and there.

But on the question of whether or not Australia has retained full confidence in the US's ability to handle this war, Mr Downer has really bristled at that question.

Mr Downer says the US President should take the time to decide what is right.

"It's not the haste with which the President makes his decisions, it's the
quality of the decisions that counts," he said.

Mr Downer said: “We are Australians, and basically, with our mates, we don't go around bagging them for the convenience of headlines and popular, being sort of cheapskate populist politicians. No, we don't do that.

We stick by our mates through thick and thin, and when times are difficult for them … I mean, I think when times are difficult for you that's when you look to your friends to see if they're really friends. And the one thing I don't think the Americans will ever find is that Australians are weak fair-weather friends.”

Dr Nelson signed a memorandum of understanding on the jets to replace F-111s
and FA-18s.

Australia Reaffirms Support For US & Iraq War