Defence and Security
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Making sense of Afghanistan: If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied.Part 1
Whatever took place in the last several days in Afghanistan, be it the Taliban’s victory as insurgency or counter-counter-insurgency, it is a development that will not disclose its full consequences for some time. Continue reading »
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The All-American Base World
According to our list, American military bases overseas are now scattered across 81 countries, colonies, or territories on every continent except Antarctica. And while their total numbers may be down, their reach has only continued to expand. Between 1989 and today, in fact, the military has more than doubled the number of places in which Continue reading »
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The fall of Kabul: false friends for over sixty four years
On hearing of the fall of Kabul a few days ago on 15 August, I recalled how shocked I had been by the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. As an Australian soldier who served in the Vietnam War between September 1972 and March 1973, I was an adviser to the old Army of Continue reading »
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Full time in Afghanistan. The captains and the kings have departed- again.
And there’s the final whistle! What a disappointment for team USA. They began superbly, bigger, fitter and stronger, and made some lovely attacking moves. In the opening stanza, they sliced the opposition defence to ribbons. All around me the crowd was on their feet, roaring their team on, confident this was going to be a Continue reading »
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A new game in a new era: China is playing it right, the US is not
China and the United States are in a different game than the rising power/established power conflicts of the past. Most analyses of such rivalries are based on pre–World War II history and fail to notice that the game changed radically after World War II. Sometimes when alterations are made in the rules or implements of Continue reading »
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Afghanistan: the graveyard of empires and the opium poppy (Repost from May 9, 2018)
They have all failed to conquer Afghanistan – the Greeks, Indians and more recently, the British in the mid 19th Century and the Soviets in the late 20th Century. And now the US empire is failing to subdue the tribes of Afghanistan despite enormous cost of people and treasure. What has not received much attention is Continue reading »
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Critics Say Investors in US Weapon-Makers Only Clear Winners of Afghan War
As the hawks who have been lying about the U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan for two decades continue to peddle fantasies in the midst of a Taliban takeover and American evacuation of Kabul, progressive critics on Tuesday reminded the world who has benefited from the “endless war.” Continue reading »
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The Failure of the American War Machine
The American War Machine (AWM) is big and brassy. Sound and light, chest-thumping, shock and awe. It is an extension of the American psyche. Continue reading »
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Too little, too late: Morrison’s Afghanistan failures
‘Too little, too late’ is one of the Morrison Government’s defining characteristics. Continue reading »
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After Kabul – a great opportunity for Australia
Our “great and powerful friend’, the United States of America, has suffered another humiliating defeat, this time in Afghanistan. In fact, the USA hasn’t won a single war in which it has participated for more than 75 years – since the WW2 conflict with Japan, concluded in 1945. Continue reading »
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Another bright shining lie: the ADF and Afghanistan
It was the celebrated American war correspondent Neil Sheehan who used the term “a bright shining lie” to characterise the profoundly corrupt nature – moral, political, social, intellectual, strategic, military, religious – of the US’s (and, by association, Australia’s) disastrous invasion of Vietnam. Continue reading »
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Lessons from the winds of war?
“Peace, if it ever exists, will not be based on the fear of war, but on the love of peace. It will not be the abstaining from an act, but the coming of a state of mind” Herman Wouk, The Winds of War Continue reading »
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Time for facts on Afghanistan, not platitudes and propaganda
Facing the all too predictable chaos left behind by yet another unnecessary Australian military adventure, the prime minister mouthed insulting platitudes about ‘freedom’ and sought propaganda value about no member of the military dying in vain. Such remarks display historical ignorance as well as insensitivity. Continue reading »
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The US disaster in Afghanistan and the growing influence of Russia and China
Afghanistan’s economic and social reconstruction could be swift, provided it is not handicapped by continuing Western interventions. Continue reading »
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Afghanistan is a warning for all US allies
As an ally of the US Australia should be reflecting deeply on America’s third major postwar strategic fiasco. The US military has brought overwhelming military power and technological sophistication to major defeats in Vietnam, Iraq, and now Afghanistan. In each, the allies have been let down or suffered. Continue reading »
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Afghanistan is gone, what comes next?
After Vietnam, and the Chinese civil war that preceded it, we assumed that the lessons had been learned – that a rural-based guerrilla movement facing a corrupt government can prevail provided it has leadership and an ideology to cling to. Continue reading »
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US defeat again and too little, too late by Australia.
The Taliban over-ran Kabul last night. They had been speedily advancing throughout Afghanistan for weeks. Despite the US spending trillions of dollars training and equipping the Afghan army it collapsed almost overnight due to corruption and poor morale. Continue reading »
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How Washington co-opts Hollywood and the news media
Latest exposé of Pentagon documents show how Washington manipulates an ostensibly free and independent media industry. Continue reading »
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ASPI’s proposal to further militarise and securitise the University. Part 2
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s recent proposal to enrol the science, technology, engineering and mathematics areas of the research universities as part of a national security establishment along the lines overseen by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency is a regrettable initiative. Continue reading »
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ASPI’s proposal to further militarise and securitise the university – Part 1
It is now unambiguously clear that certain influential centres of government advice and government policy hold the university-as-institution in contempt. Continue reading »
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The Marines in Darwin, the governments dereliction, and sexual assault: predictability all round
The Australian Government needs to reassess its agreement that allows the US Marines to “rotate” through Darwin, especially in the light of the expansionist nature of this agreement. The cause is straightforward: sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape against female members of the Australian Defence Force. And these occur at a time when such offences Continue reading »
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Commemoration is the second casualty of war
The Australian Government is very, very slow to address veterans’ problems – witness the tardiness on the veterans’ suicide issue – yet it is always quick off the mark to dream up some new commemoration of conflict. Continue reading »
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ASPI outsourcing our defence policy to the gun runners!
Australia’s strategic policy discourse takes place in a fog of claims about risk and the warning time, while the key issues are the balance and trajectory of military forces in the Asia Pacific and the strategic interests of the regional states. Recent exhortations to urgent actions and radical defence reforms are alarmist and confused, and Continue reading »
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The right reasons for saying no to nuclear first use
Washington is once again debating whether to declare that it will never be the first to use nuclear weapons. There are good reasons why it should. But it would not be right to suggest that a no-first-use policy would cost the United States nothing strategically. Continue reading »
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Australian Government must ensure cases of sexual assault against Australian women by U.S. marines in NT are investigated thoroughly and the perpetrators face Australian courts
SBS News has uncovered three cases of sexual harassment/assault on women in the NT by U.S. marines. The cases have not been thoroughly investigated and there has been no trials in Australian courts. The Australian Government’s SOFA Treaty with the United States Government gives Australian authorities the right and duty to deal with such alleged Continue reading »
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ASPI, AZERIs, the ADF, and the Defence hierarchy
ASPI’s Michael Shoebridge’s criticism of the professionalism and competency of the Defence hierarchy is serious. He paints the military and civilian hierarchy in Defence as hidebound, and infers they are placing service personnel and the nation’s security at risk. His analysis, however, displays a surprising degree of unfamiliarity with military affairs, and does not support Continue reading »
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Japan is tempting fate by joining the US-led anti-China coalition
War between China and the US is not inevitable. But it is becoming increasingly likely – and Japan’s actions could be the trigger. Japan and its US backers should not tempt fate. Continue reading »
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Public service or politics?
Senior public servants are only as good as the leadership provided by politicians working in the national interest. With appropriate checks, balances and protections in place, senior public servants should be able to give the frank and fearless advice required of their position and as set out in law. Continue reading »
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What are hostilities if not war?
Rarely is the United States not at war. Trump didn’t start any wars, but he didn’t end any either. Biden is keeping America’s enemies and adding new ones. Congressional control over how the US goes to war and what it’s called has again become a pressing issue. Continue reading »
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Afghanistan: The graveyard of empires was one of the greatest follies of US foreign policy.
The US-led war in Afghanistan looks to be ending, and not a day too soon. America’s father, Benjamin Franklin, wisely wrote: “No good war; no bad peace.” Yet for 20 years, the United States waged all-out war against this small, remote, impoverished state whose only weapons were old AK47 rifles and the boundless courage of Continue reading »