Monday, January 2, 2012

Muldoon tried to get US to mislead NZ public

The Government of the late Sir Robert Muldoon tried to persuade the United States to mislead New Zealanders on the extent of its commitment to defend the country under the Anzus alliance, confidential Australian papers reveal.
The 1983 Australian Cabinet papers, released by the National Archives, show that Sir Robert was afraid support for the alliance would be undermined if New Zealanders understood the limits Washington had placed on military support.
And while the then Secretary of State, George Shultz, had explained those limits "quite categorically" during talks between alliance ministers, both the US and New Zealand fudged the reality of America's position in the communique the Anzus Council issued.
Read more here

National Archives of Australia

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