04-04-2012, 06:27 PM
Two hundred U.S. marines have arrived in northern Australia in the first wave of a buildup of 2,500 troops due eventually in the country. The United States says the move is needed to better protect U.S. interests across Asia, but the deployment has sparked concern in China. U.S. Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich spoke at a welcoming ceremony earlier today.
Jeffrey Bleich: "We are fortunate to be in the most dynamic area in the world right now. This is the fastest-growing economic area and also the one that is enduring the greatest demographic change, and we want to make sure that it continues to be a peaceful, prosperous and stable area. The way that we accomplish that is by ensuring that trade routes are open and that we're prepared for any issue that could come up. And so, the opportunity to train here in Darwin is ideal for having the ability to do that. You have access to the Pacific Ocean, to the Indian Ocean, to the East Timor Sea and to trade routes all around."
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass