Former prime minister John Howard has defended his record on committing Australia to the Iraq war. But we are no closer to fully understanding his reasons. Former Prime Minister John Howard’s response (The Australian Financial Review letters, January 15) to my column in these pages on January 8 offers an important opportunity for Australians to Continue reading »
Defence and Security
For the last few Februaries the Director-General of the ASIO, Mr Mike Burgess, has delivered an “annual threat assessment” by way of a speech to as many worthies as he can gather before him. He’s no doubt got the 2024 edition well in the works and invitations to the event in the post. Potential invitees Continue reading »
Not since the DLP split in 1955 has Labor been so divided on foreign and defence policy. And always for the same reason. Members are wide apart on how Labor, State and Federal, can keep its promises for social progress while continuing to give tax cuts to those who don’t need them. Labor has to Continue reading »
Bombing one of the most impoverished nations on Earth over its sea blockade to stop genocide in Gaza reflects Kiwi values, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. A decision to send military personnel to the Red Sea to help bomb Yemen reflects New Zealand’s values and a desire to protect the “rules-based international order”, New Zealand’s Continue reading »
The US military paid $300 million to divert an Australian undersea communication cable to Oman through Diego-Garcia, writes Phil Miller, as facilities at a UK GCHQ surveillance station in the Middle Eastern country have been upgraded ahead of a potentially devastating new war with Iran over Israel. A base for British spies near Iran has Continue reading »
Ukraine is now being urged to make 2024 a year of consolidation of abilities before launching a new offensive in 2025. But the reality is that Ukraine will NOT force Russia out of its territory, and its time to draw some lessons in regard to the West’s aggressive policies toward China. Put simply, the West Continue reading »
Australia has just taken another step, as part of the AUKUS agreement with the US and the UK, that is leading us towards an event that should be unthinkable – involvement in a major war against China. On Tuesday 16 January, Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy announced a $37 million contract with Lockheed Martin Australia Continue reading »
On Monday the US launched its eighth wave of airstrikes in its new war against Yemeni forces, which it has now formally titled “Operation Poseidon Archer”. The strikes are aimed at breaking a Red Sea shipping blockade which the de facto authorities in Yemen have implemented to pressure Israel and its allies into ceasing the Continue reading »
Joe Biden relies on advisors who view the world through the prism of the West’s civilising mission to the “lesser breeds” of the earth to formulate his policies towards Israel and the Middle East. Joe Biden’s inner circle of strategists for the Middle East — Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan and Brett McGurk — have little Continue reading »
Last week the French government joined the German government in claiming that the Genocide Convention does not apply to Israel. Because the convention was created in response to the Shoah, Israel should have legal immunity for any war crimes it commits, including the genocide which it is currently conducting against Palestinians in Gaza. Paris has Continue reading »