CANBERRA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Former Australian Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer has accused the U.S. of hitting Australia with a "diplomatic insult."
Fischer, who served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1996 to 1999 under Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister John Howard, on Wednesday said the U.S. administration's failure to appoint an ambassador to Canberra for 18 months indicated Australia w...
**Steelman:** Fischer's criticism of the U.S. for failing to appoint an ambassador to Australia for 18 months stems from his belief that this is a diplomatic insult, downgrading Australia's importance in the eyes of the current U.S. administration. He suggests that Trump's opposition to a refugee deal negotiated between Obama and Turnbull may be a contributing factor. **Patterns detected: none**
**Root Cause:** The delayed appointment could be due to political disagreements over policy issues, s...