UPDATE: The WSJ has a report quoting anonymous sources with details of Obama's planned announcement in Darwin.
We're starting to get an idea of the substance of President Obama's visit to Australia next week.
One encouraging sign comes from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who says President Obama's speech to a joint sitting of parliament will be more than just some pro forma bromides about 'shared values' and our enduring alliance (emphasis added):
This speech will actually be about the -- again, the U.S.-Australian alliance, but also this will be a broader speech about the Asia-Pacific region by the President. This will really be the kind of anchor speech by the President in his first term on how the U.S. sees the Asia Pacific, the efforts that we’ve taken, again, within the region over the course of the last three years to strengthen our core alliances to engage emerging powers like China and India and others, and to engage Asian regional institutions like APEC and the East Asia Summit.
Also, Sydney Morning Herald International Editor Peter Hartcher told me this morning that his paper might have some specifics tomorrow about what Obama will announce in his Darwin speech, which is expected to be all about a greater US military presence in Australia. Hartcher was at the Lowy Institute to take part in a panel discussion on Obama's visit, and we'll have full audio of the event for you tomorrow on the Lowy Institute website. Meantime, here's an interview I recorded with Peter:
Photo by Flickr user Burns.
