President George W Bush and his administration put forward a variety of reasons to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In the months before the US invasion, Bush said the looming conflict was about eradicating terrorism and seizing weapons of mass destruction – but also because of a “freedom deficit” in the Middle East, a […]Continue Reading
The extraordinary footage of a Russian jet intercepting a US drone over the Black Sea earlier this week demonstrates just how potentially disastrous such encounters outside actual war zones can be. Released by the Pentagon, the drone’s own video captures the Russian aircraft apparently spraying the drone with fuel, then deliberately colliding with it. The […]Continue Reading
When a referendum was held in Crimea on March 16 2014, to ask voters whether they wanted to be part of Russia, the official result was a 96.7% vote for Russia. The region was under military control at the time Crimean public buildings held by Russian soldiers and military forces seen across the peninsula. The […]Continue Reading
Australian governments have a long and generally dismal history of using defense procurement, and particularly naval procurement, as a form of industrial policy. Examples include the Collins-class submarines, Hobart-class air warfare destroyers and, most recently, the Hunter-class “Future Frigates.” The stated goal is to build a defense-based manufacturing industry. But there is also a large […]Continue Reading
Following political developments in the past fortnight, two state-level policy changes in the Middle East are likely to combine to have a substantial impact on regional stability. On March 10, in a deal brokered by China and signed in Beijing, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after a seven-year […]Continue Reading
US regulators’ swift reaction to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and two other lenders partially restored calm to markets, but concerns remain over the stability of the global financial system. The government is racing to orchestrate a US$30 billion rescue of First Republic Bank by the nation’s largest financial institutions after the California lender’s […]Continue Reading
The death at 88 of Japanese writer and Nobel prize winner Kenzaburō Ōe on March 3 leaves a deep wound in his readers – and in the Japanese community, which has lost one of its most powerful voices and critics. Ōe was a literary giant. In Japan open political discussion and participation is discouraged and […]Continue Reading
Within ten years, Australia could be in possession of three American-made Virginia-class nuclear submarines under the AUKUS agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom. The following decade, we plan to build five next-generation nuclear submarines. To date, criticism of the deal has largely focused on whether our unstable geopolitical environment and China’s military […]Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve is facing a rather sticky problem. Despite its best efforts over the past year, inflation is stubbornly refusing to head south with any urgency to a target of 2%. Rather, the inflation report released on March 14, 2023, shows consumer prices rose 0.4% in February, meaning the year-over-year increase is now at […]Continue Reading
After more than four decades as seemingly implacable enemies on either side of a deep political-religious divide in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies. The deal, which was signed in Beijing, comes seven years after diplomatic relations were severed in the aftermath of the execution […]Continue Reading