APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, May 13, 2010

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"APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, May 13, 2010", APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, May 13, 2010, https://nautilus.org/apsnet/apsnet-13-may-2010/

APSNet 13 May 2010

  1. Emphasis on protecting troops
  2. Faulkner under fire on projects
  3. Terrorism alert intensifies ocean patrols
  4. Review of spooks to go ahead
  5. Nuclear waste site a target for terrorists, expert warns
  6. Reserve force ordered into retreat
  7. Avoiding tensions, Obama reassures Karzai
  8. Distrust of Afghan leaders threaten U.S. war strategy

1. Emphasis on protecting troops, John Kerin, AFR*, 2010-05-12

Defence Minister John Faulkner has unveiled a $26.9 billion defence budget which devotes $2.6 billion to fund continuing operations in Afghanistan and buy equipment to better protect Australian troops deployed there.
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2. Faulkner under fire on projects, John Kerin, AFR*, 2010-05-13

The Opposition has accused Defence Minister John Faulkner of condoning Navy’s concealing figures on the availability of the Collins class submarines and overseeing the deferral of a further $1 billion in defence projects.
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3. Terrorism alert intensifies ocean patrols, Yuko Narushima, Age, 2010-05-12

Citing threats of terrorism, the government will bolster border security by $1.2 billion, some of which will be spent in Indonesia to stop asylum seekers heading for Australian shores. The spending surge comes as the government comes under persistent attack over the rising number of unauthorised boats heading here.

4. Review of spooks to go ahead, Tim Lester, Age, 2010-05-13

Australia’s intelligence agencies may win far greater flexibility to use surveillance tools at home after an independent inquiry ordered by the Rudd government. An intelligence review, confirmed in the federal budget, is likely to examine strict limits on how agencies that have been set up to protect against foreign threats can operate in Australia.

5. Nuclear waste site a target for terrorists, expert warns, Lindsay Murdoch, SMH, 2010-05-11

A British nuclear risk expert has warned that terrorists could target radioactive waste being transported thousands of kilometres across Australia to a proposed waste dump in the Northern Territory.

6. Reserve force ordered into retreat, Sean Parnell, Australian, 2010-05-13

The build-up of Australia’s High Readiness Reserve of troops has been halted, with the Rudd government demanding a leaner, better-equipped and more capable force. While the Howard government saw the need for rapid expansion of the HRR to help with the war on terror and overseas deployments, Labor’s policy of doing more with less in Defence will see the Reserves undergo sweeping changes.

7. Avoiding tensions, Obama reassures Karzai, Helene Cooper, NYT, 2010-05-12

President Obama promised President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan that the United States would remain in Afghanistan for the long haul, even as he vowed to stick to his timetable to begin withdrawing troops by July 2011. Both men sought to play down the sharp differences between the governments over the past few months, as the White House pressed its new strategy of using carrots and kind words, instead of sticks and pressure, with Mr. Karzai.

8. Distrust of Afghan leaders threatens U.S. war strategy, Alissa J. Rubin, NYT, 2010-05-12

Nearly a year into a new war strategy for Afghanistan, the hardest fighting is still ahead, but already it is clear that the biggest challenge lies not on the battlefield but in the governing of Afghanistan itself. The success of the far larger offensive in the coming weeks in Kandahar, the Taliban heartland, may well depend on whether Afghans can overcome their corrosive distrust of President Hamid Karzai’s government.