The Arizona Republic argues that Americans need to apologize and take notice of the loss our Australian allies suffered in the terrorist attack in Bali a couple of weeks ago.
The paper notes that, when considering Australia's smaller population, that their loss is comparable to what we suffered on September 11, 2001.
Immediately after the Bali bombing, President Bush sent word to the Australian people that we shared their grief. But our people really weren't paying attention.That is undeniably true. We must do better in the future.An American media obsessed with the Beltway sniper and the impending invasion of Iraq failed to appreciate the import of the Bali bombings or the magnitude of Australia's loss. We Americans did not step forward and show genuine friends the support they deserved.
Australians have proved their loyalty to this nation over and over these past 100 years. They were our allies in World War I, World War II and the Gulf War, among others. They fearlessly declared their support after Sept. 11. They deserved better than they got from us after Bali.
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