The rest of the world may (or may not) hate us, but we have no better ally than Australia, as demonstrated by freed hostage Douglas Wood: Freed Australian hostage reunited with family. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)

Freed Australian hostage, Douglas Wood, has been reunited with his family in the Australian city of Melbourne.

The 63-year-old engineer was rescued last week during a raid on a Baghdad house after being held for 47 days by Iraqi insurgents.

He and his American wife, Yvonne Given, travelled to Australia from Dubai. At a press conference at Melbourne Airport, Mr Wood paid tribute to his family. “I love my family, and I knew that they’d be doing as much as they could to get me out,” he said.

Mr Wood has apologised to the Australian prime minister and the US president for his appeals for troop withdrawals from Iraq, which he says were made under duress.

He says the calls he made in a video-taped statement did not reflect his beliefs, and his rescue by Iraqi forces shows that the policies of recruiting and training Iraqi troops are working.

“I’m proof positive that the policies of the American and Australian governments is the right one,” he said.

The prime minister, John Howard, says he appreciates Mr Wood’s apology, although he was not seeking it.