When the President of the United States, in response to a question from an Australian journalist, launched into a diatribe against the ALP's proposed withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq, his comments were clearly inept but arguably not sinister. As this newspaper commented at the time, if President George Bush's intention in making his remarks was to help the Howard Government's re-election prospects, this aim was likely to backfire. Any appearance of intervention in Australian domestic politics on the part of the US Administration would be more likely to harden attitudes within the Labor Party and among undecided voters. If the White House wanted to influence the debate in Australia it had better options, such as keeping open a dialogue between the State Department, ALP leader Mark Latham and his foreign affairs spokesman, Kevin Rudd. Now, US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage, have made statements on Labor's Iraq policy; what they have had to say, however, leaves little room for anything resembling dialogue.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/11/1086749893358.html

This understanding of the alliance not only differs from the one to which Australia has historically subscribed; it is an understanding Australia cannot accept without diminishing its sense of self as a sovereign, independent nation.