APSNet 13 October 2010

1. Self-reliance a long way off for Afghan province
2. Tigers not ready to fly: Defence
3. Army Chief warns soldiers against Afghan charge protests
4. ASIO set to tap into more power
5. Australia’s special envoy meets Iranian security official
6. Canada to lose airbase in UAE
7. The status quo isn’t working: a nuke-free zone is needed now

1. Self-reliance a long way off for Afghan province, Dan Oakes, Age, 2010-10-08

Afghans in the province controlled by Australian and allied forces have become dangerously reliant on foreign aid and have no faith in a weak and ineffective local government, a landmark survey has found. ‘The biggest challenge remains in the area of governance, where the context is defined by a state reliant on foreign aid and not strong enough to withstand the meddling of Popalzai [tribe] strongmen that controlled the provincial government in 2006,” the report says.

• The Dutch engagement in Uruzgan – TLO Report 2010, The Liaison Office, 2010-10-05

• Creating conditions for the defeat of the Afghan Taliban: A strategic assessment, Mark Smethurst, Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, Australian Defence College 2010 [PDF, 636KB]

• Liberal rebels on ‘war of confusion’, Michelle Grattan and Dan Oakes, Age, 2010-10-07

2. Tigers not ready to fly: Defence, Dan Oakes, SMH, 2010-10-07

Attack helicopters the opposition says should be sent to Afghanistan to support Australian troops will not be fully operational for at least two years.
Eighteen of the 22 armed reconnaissance helicopters have been delivered by their maker, Australian Aerospace, and are being introduced into service with the 1st Aviation Regiment in Darwin.

3. Army Chief warns soldiers against Afghan charge protests, Emma Rodgers, ABC, 2010-10-13

Army Chief Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie has warned soldiers against signing a petition which calls for charges against commandos involved in a deadly Afghanistan firefight to be dropped. Three soldiers have been charged over the February 2009 raid in which six Afghans, including four children, were killed.

• Prosecutor vilified in campaign of abuse, Rafael Epstein, Age, 2010-10-09

4. ASIO set to tap into more power, Dylan Welch, Age, 2010-10-12

The steadily increasing power of Australia’s domestic spy agency is set to continue, with legislative amendments to give ASIO the power to run the wiretaps of more than a dozen domestic law-enforcement agencies. The changes are part of a broad move to update the laws and intelligence-sharing functions of Australia’s national security community, to ensure that vital information can be easily shared.

• Explanatory memorandum, telecommunications interception and intelligence services legislation amendment bill 2010, House of Representatives, Parliament of Australia
• Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and related intelligence issues, Budget 2010–11: Security, Nigel Brew, Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Australia
• Chronology of legislative and other legal developments from 11 September 2001, Terrorism law, Law internet resources, Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Australia

5. Australia’s special envoy meets Iranian security official, Tehran Times, 2010-10-13

Richard Smith, the Australian premier’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, met with Ali Baqeri, the deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Smith said Iran plays an important role in resolving regional issues and called for continued dialogue with Tehran over regional issues including the Afghanistan war. Baqeri said Afghanistan has fallen into disarray mainly because of the wrong strategy followed by the U.S. and its allies in the country over the past 9 years.

6. Canada to lose airbase in UAE, Bernard Simon and Simeon Kerr, Financial Times*, 2010-10-13

The United Arab Emirates has refused to renew Canada’s lease on a Dubai airbase that is being used to ferry troops and supplies to Afghanistan in response to Ottawa’s denial of extra landing rights for two Emirati airlines. Peter MacKay, Canada’s defence minister, confirmed the termination of the base agreement, saying: “At this point we will abide by the wishes of the Emirates and …we will be leaving the base”. Canada has about 2,800 troops in Afghanistan.

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• Tories saw UAE airline demands as ‘blackmail’, Hannah Thibedeau, CBC News, 2010-10-12
• Al Minhad Air Base, Australian Bases Abroad, Nautilus Institute

7. The status quo isn’t working: a nuke-free zone is needed now, Peter Hayes, Nautilus Institute, 2010-10-06

Peter Hayes, Executive Director of the Nautilus Institute, writes, “One thing is clear about past attempts to denuclearize North Korea: They have been an abysmal failure. They have not afforded Pyongyang the sense of security it needs to take real steps to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions. The idea of a South Korea-Japan nuclear weapon-free zone provides a fresh approach that might just work.”

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