Tag Archives: Middle East

ANDREW FARRAN.  More troops to Afghanistan: at best a patch job; at worst perpetuating futility

Posted on 17 May 2017 by John Menadue

Whereas economic globalisation might seem for a time to be on the wane, in the military sphere globalisation is on the rise. Regional alliances are being transformed into global alliances. ANZUS has been merged de facto into NATO, and where … Continue reading →

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ANDREW FARRAN. The Tactical Strike Force fighter to stalk terrorists – really!

Posted on 7 March 2017 by John Menadue

Why does the Prime Minister extoll our expensive F-35s as instruments for killing terrorists in irrelevant conflicts when their purpose is to protect the nation against threats of strategic dimensions were they to arise, not now but in the decades … Continue reading →

Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

RICHARD WOOLCOTT. The US has ‘wasted $6 trillion’ in the Middle East without achieving any success.

Posted on 2 March 2017 by John Menadue

In a statement on 27 February President Trump said that the United States had spent $ 6 trillion in the Middle East and had ” got nowhere “. It had produced  a “mess” and a ” hornet’s nest “. In … Continue reading →

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MICHAEL McKINLEY. Trump, Australia, Iran, and a Question For Australia

Posted on 8 February 2017 by John Menadue

For all of the radical change promised by Donald Trump when he was campaigning, at least one area of continuity is abundantly clear: the preoccupation with, and a distorted understanding of Islam in general and Iran in particular. His appointment … Continue reading →

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TONY KEVIN. Clinton-Putin-Trump: foreign policy dimensions of the final debate.

Posted on 20 October 2016 by John Menadue

  There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton trumped her contender on domestic economic and social policy issues, migration, and proper respect for women. She has neutralised the personal emails and Clinton Foundation questions. Barring the unforeseeable, she will cruise … Continue reading →

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MICHAEL McKINLEY. The unmooring of our national defence from our national interest. Part 2 of 4.

Posted on 20 September 2016 by John Menadue

Australia is currently courting offence rather than, as governments so often assert, defence – a transformation which might only charitably be attributed to absent mindedness if the alternative, stealth, is excluded. It is, moreover, a change wrought, in the first … Continue reading →

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