CANBERRA, Australia - As thousands of anti-war demonstrators protested outside Parliament, President Bush (news - web sites) thanked Australia on Thursday for sending troops to Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) to stand and fight alongside the United States "instead of wishing and waiting while tragedy drew closer." Bush personally saluted Prime Minister John Howard as "a leader of exceptional courage" for not buckling earlier this year to his nation's largest peace marches since the Vietnam War. Instead, Howard sent 2,000 troops to Iraq. Forty-one opposition lawmakers signed a letter criticizing Bush's war decision, saying...