Despite John Howard going all the way with Osama mole George Bush (well how else can you explain his policies?), agriculture minister Peter McGauran’s happily throwing rocks at the US government.

If it’s a choice between the US alliance and AWB, National Party member McGauran’s sticking with Saddam’s boys. The AFR quotes the minister thus:

There’s more than a little opportunism to the legal and political actions against AWB in the US, especially with the Democrats taking charge of the Congress… it is to be expected.

The Australian government will respond in the interests of Australian wheat growers to the posturing of American politicians if the need arises.

Sounds like the sort of thing you’d hear in Tehran this morning.

The latest US threat to local farmers and tax payers though comes from a Republican and friend of al- Qaeda’s man in the White House, not some perfidious liberal Democrat. Senator Norm Colemann has introduced a bill to impose 100 per cent import duties on Australian exports if the Australian Government fails to pay compensation to American farmers who missed out on Iraqi business thanks to AWB’s special marketing skills.

So that’s why we have troops in Iraq.