SYDNEY -- Two good friends, George W. Bush and John Howard, were chatting as they walked the American president's Scottish terrier, named Barney, around the "Texas White House." Suddenly Bush said: "You know, John, you should get yourself a dog."
The Australian prime minister laughed and replied: "Well, in Australia, that's something you say when someone is looking for a loyal friend -- get a dog."
It was that kind of bilateral diplomacy -- and more. Between close friends, much closer since Australia sent in troops to fight with the "coalition of the willing" in Iraq and now stands ready to help in the Korean Peninsula, frank negotiations came easily to the two Pacific partners.