Numbers Fail Him

From Gerard Henderson's column in today's SMH ...

If Howard was undiplomatic in commenting on US domestic policies then the same can be said for Obama's response. Obama told reporters in Iowa that if Howard's comments were anything other than "empty rhetoric" he would commit 20,000 additional troops to the war. This is rhetoric in itself.

Australia has about 1500 men and women in Iraq. On a comparative population basis, an Australian force of 21,500 in Iraq would equate to some 320,000 Americans - almost double the US deployment.

In itself, this is true. But it also shows to have the same level of commitment as the US, Australia would need to deploy over 10,000 troops.

Sometimes it's better to concentrate just on the rhetoric, Gerry.