APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, June 21, 2010

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APSNet 21 June 2010

  1. SAS troops rout insurgent group
  2. Deciding to go to war should not be left to the PM
  3. Army capability review 2010
  4. Afghanistan, and the world’s resource war
  5. Realism in Afghanistan: rethinking an uncertain case for the war
  6. Papuans march to call for end to the Indonesian province’s special autonomy status
  7. Fugitive to leak secret airstrike video

1. SAS troops rout insurgent group, Dan Oakes, Age, 2010-06-17

Special forces troops have “ripped the heart out” of a powerful insurgent group in a pitched battle in southern Afghanistan, the commander of Australian forces in the Middle East said. The battle came during a five-day operation in Kandahar Province, where Australian commandos and Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers are taking part in what the NATO-led coalition hopes will be a decisive push against insurgent strongholds over the next few weeks.

2. Deciding to go to war should not be left to the PM, Editorial, Age, 2010-06-18

Australia’s constitution, unlike that of the United States, does not reserve to the legislature the right to declare war. War is waged by the Crown, which, practically speaking, means the government of the day. A private bill now before the Senate does not seek to change the constitution, but if passed it would require the government to obtain the consent of Parliament for troop deployments.

3. Army capability review 2010, Andrew Davies, ASPI, 2010-06-18

This paper is an update of a 2008 ASPI paper and provides an overview of the capability of the Australian Army. It is intended as a ‘snapshot’ of current capability and as a primer on the structure and equipment of the Army.

4. Afghanistan, and the world’s resource war, Paul Rogers, openDemocracy, 2010-06-17

A new report that highlights Afghanistan’s extensive mineral deposits provides fuel for the United States’s military project. But it also signals the existence of a wider resource-competition that reflects the 21st-century’s emerging geopolitics.

5. Realism in Afghanistan: rethinking an uncertain case for the war, Anthony H. Cordesman, Center for Strategic & International Studies, 2010-06-16

Two critical questions dominate any realistic discussion of the conflict. The first is whether the war is worth fighting. The second is whether it can be won. The answers to both questions are uncertain. The US has no enduring reason to maintain a strategic presence in Afghanistan or Central Asia.

6. Papuans march to call for end to the Indonesian province’s special autonomy status, RNZI, 2010-06-20

Around 2,000 Papuans have taken part in a march to demand the Papua Legislative Council overturn the province’s special autonomy status. The protesters held a peaceful rally, some clad in traditional attire, and marched from the Papua People’s Assembly in Abepura to the council building in Jayapura.

7. Fugitive to leak secret airstrike video, Dylan Welch, SMH, 2010-06-18

A secret Pentagon video showing a bloody airstrike in Afghanistan which killed dozens of children is set to be released by the fugitive founder of online iconoclast WikiLeaks. The Australian-born Julian Assange, the face of the web group, has been in hiding amid claims US authorities were hunting him.