For some Viet Cong leaders there was no doubt the Australian jungle warfare approach was effective. One former Viet Cong leader is quoted as saying: "worse than the Americans were the Australians. The Americans style was to hit us, then call for planes and artillery. Our response was to break contact and disappear if we could...The Australians were more patient than the Americans, better guerrilla fighters, better at ambushes. They liked to stay with us instead of calling in the planes. We were more afraid of their style." According to Albert Palazzo, as a junior partner, the Australians had little opportunity to influence US strategy in the war: "the American concept how the war should be fought remained unchallenged and it prevailed almost by default."