John Menadue

John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.

John's recent articles

Renewable energy investment.

A key feature of the President Obama/President Xi communique is their commitment to substantially reduce carbon pollution. There was little mention of an emissions trading scheme or putting a price on carbon. The emphasis was on developing renewable energy as an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels. Emphasis was given to development of solar, wind and nuclear power. But in Australia, our government in attacking the established renewable energy targets has caused great confusion and damage in investment plans. As a result, renewable energy investment in Australia dropped 70% in the past year. See the link below to the...

Is capitalism redeemable? Part 6: Inequality it aint fair

We get a laugh out of the Monty Python sketch of four Yorkshiremen competing with one another to tell stories of the hardship they endured when they were children, 30 years earlier you think you had it tough .... Without going into Pythonesque exaggeration, four older Australians could easily recount similar stories. If they grew up in a Brisbane middle-class suburb, their house probably had no indoor toilet: there would have been a bucket toilet in the backyard emptied by the dunnyman (the sanitary collector to use one common euphemism) . If they grew up any distance from...

Todays World Democracy, capitalism and Islam.

Mauricio Garca Villegas, El Espectador, Colombia, http://www.elespectador.com/opinion/elmundo-actual-columna-526496 The anniversary of two events that have marked out the course of our world has just been commemorated. The first is the taking of the United States embassy in Teheran on 4 November 1979. Iran at the time was governed by the Shah, a monarch who wanted to turn the ancient Persian people into a Western nation, hell or high water. It set off a reaction from Islamic leaders, amongst them the Ayatollah Khomeini, who, from his exile in London, organized a revolution to overthrow the Shah, and to establish an...

Tony Abbott and the G20

In the media in the past few days we have been overwhelmed by stories and photo opportunities from the G20 in Brisbane. It will take some time to sort out fact from spin.I have set out below some comments and opinions from observers. It provides a useful but only partial account by observers of the G20. I have not included any comments from News Corp publications. News Corps support of the government is entirely predictable.

Steve FitzGerald on Gough Whitlam, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou

Of the many things I admired and loved about Gough, one of the most delicious, next to our shared liking for food, was that he was the best person Ive ever been privileged to brief. It wasnt just that he soaked it up like blotting paper and asked for more and never forgot. It was that each piece of information was absorbed into its appointed niche and found a place in his political and historical cosmology, and emerged as knowledge, fully fashioned, and in context. One imagined the Graeco-Roman or later Christian art of memory, but of course Whitlamesque in...

John Menadue. We pass by on the other side.

We are one of the richest and most privileged people in the world but our recent performance on Ebola, foreign aid and refugees tells the world a quite different story. On Ebola, our response has been grudging and slow. We tendered one excuse after another. We moved quickly however to commit our military to combat again in Iraq and Syria. Our Medical Assistance Teams which we have deployed in humanitarian disasters like the typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines were ready to go to West Africa. They had volunteered and had vaccinations. The AMA urged us to get cracking. After...

The G20 economies.

The link to The Conversation below, provides a useful summary of the G20 and its member economies, e.g. The G20 economies represent 65% of the world's population, 79% of world trade, 84% of the world economy and 77% of world carbon emissions. Australia rates number 3 in GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity. As a percentage of GDP, Australia has a relatively low level of debt compared to other G20 economies. Along with Canada,UK and Germany, we are the only G20 economies with a AAA credit rating. Australia and Canada have the lowest...

John Menadue. Media failure.

Yesterday I posted a story from 'a former ABC correspondent' concerning cutbacks in ABC bureaus, particularly in our region. The post was entitled: 'The ABC:soft targets and collateral damage'. Cutbacks at the ABC are a very serious problem and will prejudice Australia's future in our region. So much of Australian media reflects the pattern laid down more than a century ago and remains heavily dependent on the US and the UK for news and views. These latest developments at the ABC are likely to worsen this dependence on North Atlantic media organisations. I wrote a blog on this subject...

Global Pulse Magazine

You can now subscribe to Global Pulse Magazine. Global Pulse Magazine which you can view at www.globalpulsemagazine.com was launched on September 29 and for the last month has been free to visit. We invite you to subscribe at and receive daily newsletter. Just go to the homepage of www.globalpulsemagazine.com and at the top right hand corner you can click the SUBSCRIBE button and follow the prompts. Global Pulse Magazine combines the resources of five leading Catholic publishers Commonweal in New York, La Croix in Paris, UCAN based in Bangkok, Eureka Street in Australia and eRenlai from...

The ABC: soft targets and collateral damage

In 1963, the ABCs then Controller of News reported to his superiors on the results of a wide-ranging visit to Asia. He recommended that the ABC undertake a major expansion of its overseas operations, driven by the belief that the journalists and camera operators of the national broadcaster were best equipped to keep Australians informed of the events, trends and decision-makers directly affecting them. This was seen as a core part of the ABCs charter; few doubted it. Today, sadly, more and more of the ABCs independent foreign newsgathering operations are being dismantled and the good work of decades squandered....

Peter Christoff. US-China climate deal: at last, a real game-changer.

The new US-China climate deal is a game-changer. The United States, the worlds biggest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, has pledged to cut emissions by 26-28% by 2025 relative to 2005 levels, while China, the current biggest emitter, has promised to peak its emissions by no later than 2030. The agreement between the worlds two biggest greenhouse gas emitters is part of preparations for the United Nations negotiations in Paris next year, where the rest of the world will attempt to hammer out a meaningful deal to limit emissions. It is a significant step forward. Back in...

William Grimm MM. Japan's 'inside-outside' culture guarantees a bleak future.

Society's overwhelming suspicion of 'foreigners' will eventually lead to its decline. Japan is a dangerous place. The country is prone to volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and typhoons. The earthquake and tsunami that three years ago took more than 18,000 lives brought that fact to the attention of the world. But, smaller quakes are a daily occurrence. In the week before my writing this, there were 32 earthquakes in Japan. Though dangerous in one sense, socially Japan is an extraordinarily safe country. Serious crime is rare, and generally enforced and obeyed safety regulations protect most residents from natural disasters...

John Coleman. How things changed in 1972.

As a journalist-bureaucrat 42 years ago, for me nothing illustrated more the bewildering speed of Gough Whitlams rollercoaster reforms than the removal of the last vestiges of the White Australia policy. I was publications editor for the Australian Information Service in Canberra, then Australias apolitical, overseas information agency. Part of my job was to produce the Australia Handbook which, with a print run of multiple thousands, was sent to our high commissions and embassies around the world for distribution. It was traditionally a dull, military-style manual, printed in black and white, updated each year by government departments and...

John Mant. Tribute to Gough Whitlam

It is difficult to make this speech - so much to say about this great man and his times. I observed him from a number of angles: Working with Tom Uren and Gough Whitlam on urban policy proposals before the elections. Assisting my friends Peter Wilenski and James Spigelman in their work on the administrative orders for the new government. As Uren's principal advisor for the first year I attended that amazing two man Cabinet meeting when we made the first great installment on changing Australia. During the first year of the government I was closely involved in...

Walter Hamilton. Japan and China: agreeing to disagree

In diplomacy, sometimes a nod is as good as a wink. You can argue later over the question of who nodded first (if at all). The leaders of Japan and China are maneuvering towards their first face-to-face meeting after two years of chilly and occasionally belligerent relations. To enable the meeting to happen officials on both sides have been engaged in a tortuous diplomacy of the nod/wink kind. The Japanese have a word, nemawashi, which loosely translates as spade work. They are masters at the patient, protracted negotiationsand accompanying softening up processnecessary to bring off a business deal, public...

Graham Freudenberg. Bjelke Petersen was an innocent.

What is the real meaning of the G20 security farce in Brisbane? It is a massive exercise in political intimidation. It is a demonstration of the power of government to prevent or limit the most basic democratic rights of free speech, protest and assembly. Perhaps the worst thing about it is that, in the atmosphere of these times, this intimidatory assertion of authority is accepted without question as normal, routine and completely justified. There is a long term conditioning process of work here. The original target of the G20 security operation was demonstrations that might be organised by protest...

Patty Fawkner SGS. Betty has dementia.

Grief is a constant companion when a loved one has dementia. And so, too, is grace, writes Good Samaritan Sister Patty Fawkner. Betty has dementia. Betty has had dementia for over eight years. Betty is my mother. Mum will know when its time to go into care, I would confidently say to my five siblings as Betty aged. I had utter faith in my ever-practical, no-frills, no self-pitying mother. I was wrong. A sober, unsentimental woman, Betty had met head-on all the challenges, joys and heartaches that come with rearing a large family with very modest means....

ISIS and Vietnam.

In an op ed column in the New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman spoke of the parallels between the war in Vietnam and the conflict now in Iraq and Syria. He mentions how the executive of foreign journalists is designed to provoke Western intervention. See link below for Thomas Friedman's article. John Menadue   http://nyti.ms/1vcTEK5

Antony Whitlam. Tribute to Gough Whitlam

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service The Honourable Antony Whitlam QC Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014   Auntie Millie Ingram gave a moving Welcome to Country. I also wish to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eoranation on whose land this notable building stands. I payrespect to Gadigal elders - past and present - and to so manyother indigenous Australians we are honoured to have joinwith us today, including members of Vincent Lingiaris family. This is a celebration of the life of Edward Gough Whitlam.I shall try to remember that. Gough himself,...

Noel Pearson. Tribute to Gough Whitlam.

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service Noel Pearson Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014   Paul Keating said the reward for public life is public progress. For one born estranged from the nation's citizenship, into a humble family of a marginal people striving in the teeth of poverty and discrimination, today it is assuredly no longer the case. This because of the equalities of opportunities afforded by the Whitlam program. Raised next to the wood heap of the nation's democracy, bequeathed no allegiance to any political party, I speak to this...

John Faulkner. Tribute to Gough Whitlam

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC Senator John Faulkner State Memorial Service Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014 Dying will happen sometime. As you know, I plan for the ages, not just for this life. As those words show, Gough Whitlam always thought and planned on a grand scale. In the past fortnight Australia has reflected on what Gough meant to, and achieved for, our nation. His government, cut short though it was, transformed our country in ways that still endure, four decades later. The optimism and energy which he represented, which...

Graham Freudenberg AM. Tribute to Gough Whitlam.

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam, AC QC State Memorial Service Graham Freudenberg AM Sydney Town Hall 5 November 2014 This is the greatest privilege of my very privileged life. And I thank the Whitlam Family for it. Gough Whitlam sets Time itself at defiance. Can it really be 45 years ago, he stood right here to open his epic campaign in 1969? Is it really 42 years since it was time at Blacktown in 1972 making anew and forever his own, John Curtins clarion call to the men and women of...

As the Berlin wall fell, checks on capitalism crumbled.

The Economics Editor of the Guardian, Larry Elliott, describes how capitalism is facing an increasing crisis. He says that after the fall of the Berlin wall, we have seen the dark side of the post-Cold War model. Instead of trickle-down, there has been a trickle-up. Instead of the triumph of democracy there has been the triumph of the elites. We are seeing this in so many ways - the avarice of bankers, growing inequality, executive salaries and greed. This article suggests that the Vatican may be right that markets must be underpinned by morality. For this interesting and challenging account,...

John Menadue. 'No eulogy is equal to such a name'

In a celebratory Mass for Gough Whitlam, Fr Ed Campion recalled the brief inscription to Machiavelli in the Franciscan Church of Santa Croce in Florence. 'Tanto nomini nullum par elogium, 1527'. Look around and we see monuments to Gough Whitlam everywhere - Medicare, needs-based education funding, recognition of China, no-fault divorce, university education, land rights, an end to White Australia, and .......A eulogy may be superfluous

Richard Woolcott. Whitlam on the world stage: Courage, vision and wit

Gough Whitlam had political courage and a vision for Australia. A forward-looking, pragmatic realist, he sought to reshape Australia's approach to the countries of North and Southeast Asia, the region in which we are forever situated. It was stimulating to be a senior official in the then Department of Foreign Affairs when Gough became prime minister on 2 December 1972 and the winds of change swept so forcefully through this country. Three days after his election, Whitlam said: ...the change of Government provides a new opportunity for us to reassess a wide range of Australian foreign policies and attitudes...the...

Hugh Cortazzi. Does right-wing extremism threaten Japans democracy?

In my blog of 29 May 2014 'Australia-Japan - friends should be frank', I referred to the tipping point in Japanese domestic politics with the growing ultra nationalism being promoted by Prime Minister Abe. Sir Hugh Cortazzi, who served as Britain's ambassador to Japan from 1980 to 1984 has expressed similar concerns about trends in Japan. In an opinion piece in the Japan Times on 3 November, he asked the question 'Does right-wing extremism threaten Japan's democracy?' The link to this article is below. John Menadue. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/10/31/commentary/japan-commentary/does-right-wing-extremism-threaten-japans-democracy/#.VFarwvmsU5L

Walter Hamilton. Calling up the reserves.

Japans central bank, 18 months into a monetary stimulus strategy of unprecedented scale, has decided to dramatically raise the bet. Since an extra 60 trillion yen annually fed into the economy failed to do the trick, perhaps 80 trillion (A$800 billion) will work. The look on the face of central bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda when making the announcement resembled that of a World War I general who having spent 100,000 men to gain 100 yards sees no way forward except to spend another 100,000 for total victory. The Japanese economy, says Kuroda, is at a tipping point. Again. The...

John Menadue. Australian business is too risk averse

In August this year the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Glen Stevens, told a Parliamentary hearing that Australian companies were being too risk averse by focusing on sustaining a flow of dividends and returning capital to shareholders rather than investing in future growth. Research by Credit Suisse shows that non-financial companies in the ASX increased dividends by $5 billion in the twelve months to June 2014 and cut capital expenditures by $7 billion in the same period. This month the Boston Consulting Group in a new report said that Australian companies paid out twice as much in...

Eric Walsh. Gough Whitlam - Australia's greatest reforming Prime Minister.

Australian media had never seen anything like it. Suddenly print, radio, television andsocial media were overwhelmed - blanket coverage of a single event. Edward Gough Whitlam, Australias 21st and greatest reforming Prime Minister, was dead. Newspapers were turned over to almost complete coverage ,not only of the fact that the former PM had died, but with coverage of the extraordinary series of changes he made to life and living in Australia in a short three years in office more than 40 years ago. Throughout Australia newspapers (including News Limited) carried full facial photographs and wrap- arounds of...

Kelvin Canavan. Gough Whitlam: a tribute to an education visionary.

I first met E. G. Whitlam when he spoke at a series of State Aid rallies in Sydney prior to the 1969 federal election. He was in full voice before a Catholic community that had packed halls and cinemas on eight Sunday evenings, demanding financial support for their schools from federal and state governments. The final gathering was in the Sydney Town Hall. Around 5,000 people crammed into the upper and lower levels, and on the George Street steps. The proceedings were broadcast live on radio station 2SM. His message was always the same. Australia must increase spending...

Annabelle Lukin. When governments go to war, the Fourth Estate goes AWOL.

A year after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the University of California, Berkeley, conducted a postmortem of the media coverage of the so-called Iraq war. The conference included academics, journalists, UN weapons inspectors and diplomats. UC Berkeley also invited Lieutenant Colonel Rick Long, whose job it had been to prepare journalists to be embedded with American forces as they rolled into Iraq. The invasion would soon be described as the greatest strategic disaster in US history, by no less than retired Lieutenant General William Odom, a former senior military and intelligence official in the Carter and Reagan administrations. ...

Adam Kamradt-Scott. Mining companies must dig deep in the fight against Ebola.

The current outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa shows no signs of halting. More than4,500 people have died and many thousands more are infected. Despite the creation of a new United Nations mission to tackle Ebola and commitments of thousands of western military personnel to help combat the disease, the virus is still winning the race. In September, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the international community to donate US$1 billion to help fight Ebola. Yet one month later, despite dire predictions that we could see 10,000 cases a week by December and 1.4 million cases by January...

Mike Steketee. Whitlam: the power of persuasion.

This article was first published by The Drum. Gough Whitlam's sheer presence, drive and ambitions disguised some deep flaws. But his vision and achievements stand in stark contrast to the politics we often have seen since, writes Mike Steketee. It's time. It seemed like a modest slogan for a momentous event - after 23 years, a new government led by a towering figure promising sweeping change. But it was perfectly pitched for maximum impact. Not all Australians were swept up in the political euphoria but all but the most died-in-the-wool conservatives could see that after 23 years, with the...

John Menadue. Winners in the privatisation of Medibank Pte

Many would expect that the 3.8 million members or policy-holders of MBP who are arguably the owners of the company, would be the financial winners in the proposed privatisation. But not a bit of it. Some of the 3.8 million members will seemingly get some preferential issue of shares. But it will be chicken feed. The two real winners by a country mile will be the numerous advisers to the float, and the senior executives of MBP. The once-off winners will be the financial and legal advisers to the float. Together with the brokers, underwriters and sub-underwriters, they...

German model is ruinous for Germany and deadly for Europe.

In my blog of 16 October 'Post-script from France' I said 'Like other Europeans [the President of France] hopes that the German economic engine will help power France and the rest of Europe, but the German economic engine has slowed down considerably.' Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, in the London Telegraph paints a very discouraging account of Germany and its prospects. He says 'France may look like the sick man of Europe, but Germany's woes run deeper.' For Evans-Pritchard's account, see link below. John Menadue Read more

Claire Higgins. International legal obligations once shaped our refugee policy

The refugee policy of the Fraser government is often invoked in debates about Australias current approach to asylum seekers. While the small number of boat arrivals between 1976 and 1981 cannot be compared to the many thousands who arrived between 2009 and 2013, the political difficulties in that era were far greater than simply the reception and processing of asylum seekers. By contrast with more recent policy, the Fraser government overcame these difficulties by choosing to fulfil Australias international legal obligations under the Refugee Convention and by explaining this imperative to the Australian community. Then, as now, the government...

George Lekakis recalls meeting Gough Whitlam.

Dear John I just wanted to share a memory or two with you before this day is over. My father came to Australia in 1954 and he always told me that he never felt Australian until Gough was elected in 1972. In 1993, at the tail-end of my first visit to Greece, my uncle took me to the Byzantine ruins of Mystras on the outskirts of Sparta in Lakonia. We were sweltering that day as we walked about that amazing setting. As we were about to leave, a familiar voice came into earshot. I turned to see a tall...

John Menadue. Some personal reflections a light has gone out.

Gough Whitlams death has prompted a quite remarkable bipartisan response in the parliament. And rightly so, for he was a great parliamentarian for over 26 years along with 70 years of public life. His forum was the parliament rather than the street or the protest march. He had great respect for the parliament and that is why the subversion of the parliament in November 1975, when he had a clear majority in the House of Representatives, hurt him so deeply. But his bitterness was reserved for one person. Listening to the parliament and reading the other media comments...

John Faulkner. Gough Whitlam - Academy awards and Passiona!

At the ALP Caucus today John Faulkner spoke movingly of Gough Whitlam as a towering figure in the ALP. The link to his speech follows: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/edward-gough-whitlam-labor-party-caucus-condolence-motion-20141021-119b4y.html John Menadue

John Menadue. Farewell to Gough Whitlam, 21 October 2014

Few public figures have left their mark on Australia like Gough Whitlam. I knew him for fifty years. He was the most exciting and challenging public person I have met. Australians owe him a great debt for giving them new opportunities and linking the aspirations of working people with those of the university educated. For me two events stood out. The first was his letter to Richard Nixon at Christmas 1972 deploring the bombing of the people of Hanoi and Haiphong. The outrage of the Nixon administration was wonderful to behold. It was great to see that at last...

Faith in coal.

In my blog of 5 January 2013, 'A Canary in the Coal Mine', I said that 'The future of new thermal coal mines is doubtful. Would any sensible investor take not only the political risk but also the financial risk of investing in new thermal coal mines in Australia?' The canary warning is getting louder and louder, even though Tony Abbott tells us that 'Coal is good for humanity'. In an excellent article in the SMH of 18 October 2014, Tony Allard says that Abbott's faith in coal mining could be wrong - very wrong. It refers...

John Menadue. Post-script from France.

My wife and I and quite a few members of our family, have been summering in France for a week or two. We have enjoyed the history, the architecture and the beauty of the countryside. Not for nothing, France has 37 sites inscribed on UNESCOs World Heritage list. Many other Australians also feel the attractions of France. We heard a lot of Australian accents in Paris. But this year France seemed chillier and I am not just referring to the weather. I sensed a growing malaise particularly with unemployment stuck at around 12% and double that for young...

The Failure of the South Korean National Security State - The Sewol Tragedy.

Earlier this year, the Sewol ferry sank off Korea's southern coast with 304 passengers drowned, mainly school children. An article by Jae-Jung Suh draws attention to an abdication of responsibility by the Korean Government and many others. He says 'The whole tragedy serves as a reminder of how neoliberal deregulation and privatisation puts people's safety and life at risk through a process of state collusion with business interests and how a powerful national security state may fail to protect its own people from internal dangers it helps create.' Jae-Jung Suh has been Head of Korean Studies at John Hopkins...

The Italian solution.

Last night the ABC program, Foreign Correspondent, carried a remarkable and moving account of the work of the Italian Navy in rescuing 'people fleeing conflict or economic despair in the Middle East and Africa'. The Italian Admiral in charge of the operations in the Mediterranean said 'We have the duty in these cases when we are at sea to intervene to save human life. If we are not at sea, then we can't see what happens. We can close our eyes, turn off the lights and in that way, there's no need to turn back the boats because they...

John Menadue. Asylum seekers institutionalised cruelty, the banality of evil and immorality.

You might be interested in this repost. John Menadue The recent statement by the Australian Catholic Bishops on asylum seekers says The current policy has about it a cruelty that does no honour to our nation Enough of this institutionalised cruelty We call on the nation as a whole to say no to the dark forces which make these policies possible. In her book Eichmann in Jerusalem, published in 1963, Hannah Arendt refers to the banality of evil. Her thesis is that Eichmann was not a fanatic or sociopath, but an extremely stupid person who relied...

Medibank Private and members' equity.

In the New Daily on 6 October, George Lekakis drew attention to a letter sent to a policy-holder in 1994 by Mary-Jo Henrisson, a customer services manager in Medibank's NSW head office. Mary-Jo Henrisson said We would be sorry to see you lose the equity you have built up in the fund. For the full story in the New Daily see link below. http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2014/10/06/exclusive-medibank-letter-government-doesnt-want-read/

The community of expulsion.

In the International New York Times of October 6, Roger Cohen spoke of 'the community of expulsion'. He was referring not only to the expulsion of Jews and the diaspora, but also the expulsion of the Palestinians. He said Palestinians have joined the ever recurring community of expulsion. The words of Leviticus are worth repeating for any Jew in or concerned by Israel today: Treat the stranger as yourself for 'you were strangers in the land of Egypt'. For full article see link below. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/opinion/roger-cohen-for-israel-a-time-of-self-scrutiny.html

Wooki KIM, Discrimination against Korean school children in Japan today

On 29 August this year the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) which is under the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) made rulings on Korean schools in Japan. It said The committee encourages the state party [Japan] to revise its position and allow Korean schools to benefit, as appropriate, from the High School Tuition Support Fund, as well as to invite local governments to resume or maintain the provision of subsidies to Korean schools. Korean schools in Japan were established after the liberation of Korean people from colonial...

Malcolm Fraser. Without a ground force and an end point, the war against ISIS will be a farce.

In The Guardian, Malcolm Fraser has said 'Air power alone will not make a difference in Iraq. Barack Obama and his allies have the worst strategic understanding possible of what they claim is an existential threat ' See link to article below http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/08/without-a-ground-force-and-an-end-point-the-war-against-isis-will-be-a-farce

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