Barack Obama to run for president

Philips in his blog touched how Obama can be a friend to Indonesia if he becomes the president of the U.S.

At that time Obama hasn't decided if he would run. Last Saturday, he declared himself a candidate for the White House in 2008. Here's the full text of the announcement speech.

Is this good? If elected, will he turn the U.S. to be a friend to Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia?

I don't know. I don't intend to analyze that. But here's an interesting reaction to his announcement.

Australian leader slams Barack Obama for Iraq policy. John Howard, a staunch Bush ally who has sent troops to Iraq and faces his own re-election bid later this year, said Obama's proposals would spell disaster for the Middle East.

Obama's proposal, by the way, is to end the war in Iraq and to remove U.S. combat forces by March 31, 2008.

"I think that will just encourage those who want to completely destabilize and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory," Howard said on Nine Network television.
(-- and what are your motives there? Destabilize, destroy, chaos... specifically, what are you and your buddies doing there?)

He further said: "If I were running al-Qaida in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."
(-- oh, he's a Republican...!!)

"You either rat on the ally or you stay with the ally," he said. "If it's all right for us to go, it's all right for the Americans and the British to go, and if everybody goes, Iraq will descend into total civil war and there'll be a lot of bloodshed."
(-- Mr. Howard, aren't you aware of what's going on there now?)

Apparently, Howard is seeking his fifth term later this year. Recent polls suggest voters are increasingly unhappy about his refusal to set a deadline for withdrawing Australian troops from the Middle East. He currently keeps about 1,400 Australian troops in Iraq despite domestic opposition to the war.

What does really Howard and Blair get from Bush, I wonder...?