Writer
John Tulloh
John Tulloh had a 40-year career in foreign news.
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John Tulloh. Turkey at a dangerous crossroad.
Spare a thought for Turkey as it goes to the polls on November 1. It straddles Europe and Asia, but it is not sure if it is part of either. Nor is it part of the Middle East, yet it shelters more Arab refugees than any other country there. They number two million – mainly Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Return to the Syrian battlefield.
‘Foreign (military) adventures have long appealed to insecure leaders’, wrote the veteran British journalist, Sir Simon Jenkins, in the right-wing Spectator magazine. ‘Those who’ve had no experience of war seem to crave it’. He was referring to British Prime Minister David Cameron’s renewed enthusiasm to get involved in Syria. He could just as well Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Syria; a step too far for Tony Abbott.
It was said that in World War One the British Army laced the tea of its soldiers with bromide in order to curb their sexual impulses and concentrate on the matter at hand. It would be useful if something could be found to put in Tony Abbott’s morning cuppa to inhibit his desires for military Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Goodbye Syria.
THE DEAD-END ROADS TO AND FROM DAMASCUS Fifteen years ago this month, Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father to become president of Syria. Having spent some years studying and living in France and England, he had hopes of a Western-style liberalisation and development and turning his country into the Switzerland of the Middle East. Those ambitions Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Why Eritreans are crossing the Mediterranean.
Current Affairs. ERITREA: THE NORTH KOREA OF AFRICA It is the seventh youngest nation in the world. It was born in 1993 after a 30-year war. Its flag was raised for the first time as an independent nation with high hopes for democracy in a continent dominated by too many despots. In its first years Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Gallipoli: Lest we forget the British promise to the Indians.
One hundred years on, many Australians probably still regard the Gallipoli campaign as an event involving only Australia and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand. We hear mainly legends, tales of derring-do, myths and maudlin sentimentality about the Australians who fought there. We hear next to nothing about the others who also participated in Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. An inconvenient centenary Turkey prefers to ignore.
The Gallipoli battle aside, you can be sure that Turkey will not be commemorating the centenary of another major event in its history this month. A few hours before Australian, New Zealand and other allied forces landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, what has become widely known as the Armenian genocide got Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Israel the promised land of democracy.
Surrounded by a hostile region where even basic freedoms cannot be taken for granted, Israel is to be admired for its electoral democracy at least. It has a boisterous political system full of wheeling and dealing with everybody having a say. One party even has a 101-year-old leader. Electioneering is in full swing right now Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. The flight of Christians from the Middle East.
If there is one region which Christians increasingly want to abandon, it is the biblical heartland of their faith: the Middle East. They are fleeing in greater numbers than ever before. They are fearful of the growing turmoil in places like Syria and Iraq, the spread of radical Islam and, of course, now the presence Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. The season of ill will for Bethlehem’s Christians.
Christians in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, must be wondering about the traditional Christmas message of ‘good will to men’ (men meaning people). They face a bleak future. Christians are fleeing in their thousands for a better life in other lands free of an occupation force, endless security checks and territorial disputes. Those who remain Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. The ABC on the slippery slope in Asia.
‘The overall objective for the International News initiative is to focus resources on original storytelling of the highest quality, ensure our international newsgathering operations are sustainable and ensure all audiences – digital, television and radio – are considered in our coverage’. ABC announcement, November 2014. This is a worthy aim for that fickle and Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Innocents abroad at the ABC.
INNOCENTS ABROAD AT THE ABC LOOK INWARDS AS AUSTRALIA LOOKS OUTWARDS ‘Now we cross to an ABC correspondent in Beijing for the latest on the Japanese crisis…’ The Guardian the other day carried a report that the ABC planned to emasculate its foreign news presence as part of its budget cuts. While the ABC has Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Israel High Court upsets Government on asylum seekers
Israelis have been observing the month of repentance (Elul). As far as their government is concerned, it is members of the High Court who should be repenting. They have infuriated the Netanyahu government with an order to shut down a detention centre for asylum-seekers within 90 days and to reduce maximum detention without trial from Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Australia could fight another far away war in a better way.
It is sobering to consider that the 21st century is only 15 years old and a geographically isolated and peaceful country like Australia has already participated in two major conflicts – Afghanistan and Iraq – and fought skirmishes in a lesser one, the birth of Timor Leste. Now we are preparing to join another one Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Islamic State – The Saudi Connection.
How ironic it was that last week Saudi Arabia should host a meeting between the foreign ministers of the Arab League and U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, to discuss what to do about the growing crisis about Islamic State (IS). The fact is that IS is inspired by Salafism, a small branch of Islam Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Canberra’s fork in the road – the humanitarian way or the warpath?
What interesting, fraught and changing times we live in. This month marks the 75th anniversary of the start of World War Two. Britain and France with little ado told Germany to get out of Poland or else. Three days later King George VI made a radio speech to the British nation that good must prevail. Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. The Grief and Pain of Life in Gaza.
‘Gaza is a tragic place’, observed John Lyons, The Australian’s Middle East correspondent, the other day. It certainly is. Gaza must be one of the worst places in the world in which to live or at least try to survive. For starters, its population of more than 1.7 million long-suffering Palestinians has to live in Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Iraq’s road to disintegration.
As far-fetched as this scenario was until recently, it is just possible that international governments may one day face an unprecedented dilemma: whether to recognise a caliphate as an independent country. The newly-declared Islamic State (IS) – formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – is indicating it is separate to Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Misery accomplished in Iraq as disintegration threatens.
Perhaps dictators have their place after all. Saddam Hussein presided over Iraq for 24 years. While he was cruel and vainglorious, he generally succeeded in ensuring Iraqis stayed in line and kept the peace. He was toppled in 2003 when the U.S., with the support of Australia and other allies, invaded the country with the Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Egypt’s new would-be Pharaoh.
The headline in The Australian was stark and brutal: SISI VOWS TO ERADICATE BROTHERHOOD. Eradicate? This is a word you associate with efforts to get rid of a disease or an agricultural pest. But in this case it was meant as a kind of cleansing of religious adherents and caused barely a ripple of protest Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. The way to the future through annexation.
Annexation, as in the latest example of Russia with Crimea, usually refers to a smaller entity being swallowed up by a bigger one. It has a long history with both violent and peaceful outcomes. A recent example is East Jerusalem which Israel took over after the Six-Day War in 1967, resulting in enmity ever since. Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. The French at Gallipoli – Lest we not Forget
A popular myth is that the Gallipoli landings were all about the Australian and New Zealand troops – the Anzacs – with the British somewhere involved, having concocted the unfortunate military adventure. But what is so often overlooked is the participation of France in the Gallipoli campaign. It may surprise a lot of people to Continue reading »
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Mid-east Journey to Nowhere. Guest blogger: John Tulloh
I read Marcus Einfeld’s response to my blog regarding Israeli settlements posted on October 16 with both interest and incredulity. It seems that he has grasped my piece as an opportunity to voice his own musings on the question of Israel/Palestinian relations. Mine was based on my own personal bewilderment why Israel on one hand Continue reading »
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The Mideast Road to Nowhere. Guest blogger: John Tulloh
If ever there were a news story which goes nowhere, it must surely come under the heading of ‘Middle East peace talks’ with specific reference to the Israelis and Palestinians. Google the topic and you will find no less than 84,800,000 references at last count. Mediators come and go, the protagonists gather at the Continue reading »
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Israel’s asylum-seeker dilemma. Guest blogger: John Tulloh.
Like Australia, Israel has a major problem of what to do with asylum-seekers. And, like Australia with our proposed Malaysia solution in 2011, Israeli legislation aimed at curbing the influx has been thrown out by the country’s highest court. Those seeking refuge in Israel did not come by boat. They came across the Sinai from Continue reading »