Diplomatic history of Australia the democratic world. In a country gripped by this fear, the government's defence policy was dominated by the idea of "forward defence", in which Australia would seek to prevent the Communist "thrust into South-East Asia". The committal of troops to the Vietnam War was viewed as an attempt by the Menzies Government to strengthen the alliance with the USA following Great Britain's withdrawal "east of Suez". With his arrival in October 1966, Lyndon Baines Johnson became the first US President to visit Australia. The visit came in the light of increasing international criticism over the war in Vietnam. The majority
Stop the War Coalition (Australia) working alongside StWC: Stop the War Coalition (Australia) Stop the War Coalition (StWC) is an Australian anti-war group initially formed in Sydney in 2003 in response to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the general "War on Terror" of which the Australian Government has been a strong ally. StWC was involved in organising a protest of US President Barack Obama when he was to visit Australia in March 2010. StWC criticized the Obama Administration for "dramatically escalating the war in Afghanistan", citing the authorization of more aerial bombings, and targeted killings in Pakistan than the former US President