Bob Hawke Quotes
It had things that it could do and which I thought were worthwhile: one would be South Africa, of course. And, as I said, I assumed a leadership role within the Commonwealth on that.
Hawke, Bob. Interview with Sue Onslow. Commonwealth Oral History Project, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, 27 Feb. 2014.
In 1938 beginning his policy of appeasement of the axis powers, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, 1869-1940, agreed to negotiate with Benito Mussolini, 1883-1945. Four days before this letter, Cranborne, along with his Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, 1897-1977, resigned in protest.
All of Europe and the US and the other industrial democracies wanted South Africa to end apartheid and allow majority rule. Many had imposed strong economic sanctions upon the Apartheid nation. Botha, and most of the other Afrikaners, believed that Nelson Mandala and the Blacks were all communists or under the control of the communists, and that ending apartheid would turn South Africa into a Communist Country. Of course that was a paranoid fantasy as all movements for racial or ethnic equality are accused of being communists just as in the American South. When majority rule finally came to South Africa, it showed just how wrong the Afrikaners were as there has been a small communist movement in South Africa which has like the Italian communists functioned but had very little power or influence.
The “bozos” beat him and won the Presidency. And then conducted a very successful foreign policy for 8 years.
Assad was the autocratic ruler of Syria. In the second decade of the 21st century, a number of dissident groups started a rebellion. The Unied States and most of the EU countruies wanted to assist the rebels as Assad had been butchering his own people to put down the rebellion. Russia, in addition to having an allaince with Assad for a Navel Base in Syria, was very coincerned about the people replacing Assad if the revolution succeeded. The coalition of rebels was not at all a coalition and there was considerable fighting and hatred between them ISIS was one of the stringest groups and the Russians were worried that they might take over so they supported Assad and in 2016 actually intervened using Russian air power to support the Government troops. That turned the tide and teh rebellion was prevented from succeeding. The Russian leadership was distressed that the United States did not take their concerns seriouly enough and indeed after they were in teh fight, the United States had to deal with them about the fate of Syria, so it was a successful tactic.
Robert James Lee Hawke, AC, GCL was an Australian politician who served as Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the Labor Party from 1983 to 1991. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wills from 1980 to 1992.
