President Obama holds his first meeting with the leader of one of America's closest allies on March 24, a man whose climb to power in many ways mirrors his own. Like Obama, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd beat an older, more conservative rival to lead his country, riding a wave of opposition to the Iraq War and support for more action on issues such as health care and climate change. Both men are intellectuals from modest backgrounds, they lost fathers to car accidents at young ages, and a series of international crises are filling both their inboxes. Two of those Outback-sized dilemmas are expected to dominate their White House meeting: the global financial meltdown and the deteriorating war in Afghanistan, where Australia has roughly 1,000 soldiers. (Read "A New Face for Australia." read more here......
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