Night Flashes

Australian officials have reaffirmed their support for the United States and for victory in Iraq, with Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Downer and Defence Minister Brendan Nelson emerging from day-long talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ... Downer declared, 'We stick by our mates through thick and thin, and when times are difficult for them' ... Germany and Israel showed strong ties as well, with Ehud Olmert and Angela Merkel stressing their common ground on the problem of the Iranian nuclear threat ... and the spirit of camaraderie has taken over in even the most unlikely places, as AEI discerns the emergence of a pro-American France: 'If the French continue their hard-line policy toward clerical Iran--and again, it is important to note that France’s approach within the context of the EU-3 negotiations merits the description “hard-line”--it could quite conceivably convulse the way France conducts its foreign policy everywhere. France’s “pro-American” Iran policy is a potentially landmark turn.' ....