THE federal government showed signs of "cold feet" over the announcement that US Marines will be based in Darwin, ahead of President Barack Obama's 2011 visit, officials from the United States and Australia say.
Australia had sought to delay the announcement until after Mr Obama's visit, which caused deep concerns in his administration and threw planning for his visit into confusion, Fairfax reports.
The US firmly rejected the appeal and a US official involved in the discussions says Australia was being squeamish, despite the arrangements being fully agreed and planned.
"As you get closer, you realise the momentous nature of it," a US participant was quoted as saying, labelling it a case of "cold feet".
A US official says it was made clear that Mr Obama was not going to visit Australia to announce a temporary measure or the deployment of just 250 Marines.
"It was pretty clear that it would not be good for anyone for the President to have that sort of visit. This was very important to the White House," the official said.
The newspaper reports an Australian official involved in the talks said it was "political nervousness" on the part of the Gillard government, as it considered how the announcement would be regarded by Labor's Left.
The decision to allow a rotating deployment of up to 2500 Marines to be stationed in the Northern Territory capital was announced jointly by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Mr Obama, as planned, on November 16 last year.
The paper reports a US suggestion the Pentagon send 7500 Marines to Australia, three times the number ultimately agreed, was rejected by both sides.
It adds the winner of the US presidential election on Tuesday will make decisions on the second phase of the new intensification of the Australian alliance, which will be decided in 2016.
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