Defence and Security
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Jim Molan’s delusions
No-one would expect a surgeon to recommend Chinese medicine to his patients. His advice usually involves a scalpel and some nasty cutting. Similarly, it would be surprising for military men to advocate political solutions to global conflicts. It’s not their area of professional expertise. By default they lead with their strongest suit — organised violence — not geopolitics or Continue reading »
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The media, the Iraq war and Fallujah
The Australian media continues to fail us badly over its coverage of the Middle East wars, terrorism and the continuing disaster of ISIS. That failure began with the invasion of Iraq . Unlike important overseas media, no Australian media has admitted or apologized for its failure in the coverage of the Iraq war and its Continue reading »
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Nuclear portents mount while Rome burns
“The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.” (Albert Einstein May 1946). Continue reading »
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BILL ROWLINGS. ‘Secret’ committee wants more power, but what about ASIO?
The Australian Parliament’s most secret committee is angling for more powers and the ability to conduct its affairs live on TV, just like in the USA. Continue reading »
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The trust deficit in Canberra.
When Marshall Green was sent by Richard Nixon as Ambassador to keep a close eye on Gough Whitlam, some said his was the first serious American appointment in our history. Harry Harris, for different reasons, may turn out to be another. Continue reading »
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The ‘hidden state’ behind the latest batch of repressive legislation
From the back-reaches of the ‘hidden state’ has come this latest batch of suppressive legislation ostensibly to protect our secrets and to counter surreptitious foreign influences. Instead it will facilitate yet again the tendency of Australian governments to commit to overseas military adventures, sometimes illegally, without proper Parliamentary consideration and pubic approval. Continue reading »
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The Philippine War and the Saviour syndrome
The American war against the Philippine Republic which began in 1898 and its subsequent colonisation of the Philippines teaches us many things about perennial American beliefs and actions. The concept that the US is saving somebody from something is a constant in American foreign policy. Some even believe they saved Europe from Hitler! We need Continue reading »
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Corruption in the Arms Trade
The Turnbull government is very excited about turning Australia into one of the world’s ten biggest arms traders. The announcement was prompted as much as anything else by President Trump’s announcement of a $US716 billion rise in the United States military budget, with prospects of Australia gaining a significant share in this gigantic spend. Of Continue reading »
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JIM DOWLING. Did Aussies really vote for these sociopaths?
I walked into the kitchen the other day and our illustrious defence industries minister Chris Pyne was on the radio answering a question relating to the recent horrific suicide bombing in Kabul which left 100 dead and 250 wounded. Aussies making more weapons seemed to be the answer! Continue reading »
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MUNGO MacCALLUM. Merchants of death
Australian government has in recent years, become debased – opportunist, secretive, poll-driven, fixated on short term political gain and unwilling to engage in serious issues when (as is always) they interfere with its internal wranglings. It has been depressing and demoralising, and the public has responded by branding our parliamentarians a bunch of untrustworthy go-getters, Continue reading »
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ALISON BROINOWSKI. Is militarism in Australia’s DNA?
Australians who don’t live in other countries don’t realise how our self-image differs from the perception, particularly in Asia, that we were militarists from the start. Australia’s tendency to resort to force is hard-wired, hard to eliminate, and goes back a long way. Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. PM Turnbull’s ‘jobs’ argument for war profiteering is a sham.
PM Turnbull’s push to make Australia a major weapons exporter puts paid to any pretence we might have of being a peace-loving nation. And his claim that it’s all about jobs is a sham. War profiteering is one of the least effective ways to create jobs. Continue reading »
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MACK WILLIAMS. Revisiting Australian strategic policy in the light of NDS18 – Where to start ?
The new US strategic policy requires serious and urgent revisiting of our key strategic policy positions to identify implications it has for Australia. Any attempt to minimise differences for short term political gain could endanger the nation’s longer term future. Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. We are joined at the hip to a country perpetually at war. Part 5
Next week I will be posting articles asserting that we are running great risks in being tied to what Malcolm Fraser called “our dangerous ally”, an ally almost always at war. The risks pre-date Donald Trump. Think Vietnam and Iraq. In recent issues of P & I I have posted many articles about the US Continue reading »
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MACK WILLIAMS. China : “All the way with USA” ?
The Turnbull Government was clearly caught flat-footed by the significant change in the Trump’s security strategy announced by Defense Secretary Mattis. Defence Minister Payne’s initial comment and background briefings had to be corrected quickly. All of which underlines the urgent need for detailed review of NDS18’s implications for Australian strategic policy. Continue reading »
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JAMES O’NEILL. When will the Australian Opposition and Parliament actually do its job over the Syrian war?
The US Secretary of Defence, General Mattis, recently announced that the US was intending to create a 30,000 strong “border force” to occupy a portion of northern Syria. This is territory in which the largest group are ethnic Kurds who in the past have been supported by the US, not on any principled basis but Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. We are joined at the hip to a country perpetually at war. Part 4
Next week I will be posting articles asserting that we are running great risks in being tied to the US, an ally that is almost always at war. The risks pre-date Donald Trump. Think Vietnam and Iraq. In recent issues of P & I, I have posted many articles about the US almost perpetual involvement Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. We are joined at the hip to a country perpetually at war. Part 3
Next week I will be posting articles asserting that we are running great risks in being tied to what Malcolm Fraser called “our dangerous ally”, an ally almost always at war. The risks, disasters and dangers pre-date Donald Trump. Think Vietnam and Iraq. In recent issues of P & I, I have posted many articles Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. we are joined at the hip to a country perpetually at war. Part 2
Next week I will be posting articles asserting that we are running great risks in being tied to what Malcolm Fraser called our ‘dangerous ally’, an ally almost always at war.. The risks, disasters and dangers pre date Donald Trump. Think Vietnam and Iraq. In recent issues of Pearls and Irritations I have posted many Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. We are joined at the hip to a country perpetually at war. Part 1
Next week I will be posting articles asserting that we are running great risks in being tied to what Malcolm Fraser called our dangerous ally, an ally almost always at war.The risks,disasters and dangers predate Donald Trump . Think Vietnam and Iraq. In recent issues of Pearls and Irritations I have posted many articles, mainly Continue reading »
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Henry Reynolds. Militarisation marches on . A REPOST
The Australian military featured heavily again in our celebrations of Australia Day 2018. There were Army parades in Canberra and the Navy on show in Sydney Harbour. The militarisation of Australia and the language of war has become the new norm. Is that what Australia Day should be about? What about our civilian achievements? There Continue reading »
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MICHAEL McKINLEY. Defence policies and alliances have become a new religion. Part 5 of 5 : White Papers, Strategic Reviews, Papal Bulls and Encyclicals
Government pronouncements in Australia, especially in the fields of Strategy and National Security, it is claimed, are determined by scientific rationality and definitely not configured according to religious belief. This is both fraudulent and a dangerous conceit: religion, has not been banished; indeed, the present reeks of ecclesiastical history and religion (more specifically, its deformation, Continue reading »
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ALISON BROINOWSKI. Murky wars and missions unaccomplished.
In December 2017, Australia announced the withdrawal of six RAAF Hornets from Syria. But this is not our ‘mission accomplished’ moment. The US is committed to a longer war in Syria, and its target is Iran. Continue reading »
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MICHAEL McKINLEY. Defence policies and alliances have become the new religion. Part 4 of 5 : The Sacramental Alliance.
Government pronouncements in Australia, especially in the fields of Strategy and National Security, it is claimed, are determined by scientific rationality and definitely not configured according to religious belief. This is both fraudulent and a dangerous conceit: religion, has not been banished; indeed, the present reeks of ecclesiastical history and religion (more specifically, its deformation, Continue reading »
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MICHAEL McKINLEY. Defence policies and alliances have become a new religion. Part 3 of 5 : Alliance Wars: Papal Prerogatives and Vaticanisation.
Government pronouncements in Australia, especially in the fields of Strategy and National Security, it is claimed, are determined by scientific rationality and definitely not configured according to religious belief. This is both fraudulent and a dangerous conceit: religion, has not been banished; indeed, the present reeks of ecclesiastical history and religion (more specifically, its deformation, Continue reading »
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The bomb for Australia? (Part 3)
After the Cold War ended, the existence of nuclear weapons on both sides wasn’t enough to stop the US from expanding NATO’s borders ever eastwards towards Russia’s borders, contrary to the terms on which Moscow thought Germany’s reunification and the admission of a united Germany into NATO had been agreed. Several Western leaders at the Continue reading »
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The bomb for Australia? (Part 2)
As we consider whether Australia should obtain nuclear weapons, we need to ask who might subject us to nuclear blackmail. In the authoritative statement of China’s strategic vision in President Xi Jinping’s address to the 19th Communist Party Congress on 18 October last year, the three core elements of China’s vision of the new world Continue reading »
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MICHAEL McKINLEY. Defence policies and alliances have become a new religion. Part 2 of 5: The Acutely Deranged Present.
Government pronouncements in Australia, especially in the fields of Strategy and National Security, it is claimed, are determined by scientific rationality and definitely not configured according to religious belief. This is both fraudulent and a dangerous conceit: religion, has not been banished; indeed, the present reeks of ecclesiastical history and religion (more specifically, its deformation, Continue reading »
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The bomb for Australia? (Part 1)
In this three-part series, I examine the counter-arguments that proponents of Australia obtaining nuclear weapons need to address before the nation contemplates such a move. Continue reading »
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MACK WILLIAMS. New US National Defense Strategy: Back to the Cold War?
The new US National Defense Strategy heralds a new strategic direction under Trump which significantly reduces the priority of counter-terrorism and confirms a return to global competition with China and Russia with the basic objective to “outspend” both in defence. All of which has some serious implications for Australia. The influence of the US ‘junta Continue reading »