APSNet 25 February 2010
- How embattled PM played ‘jihad’ card
- Rudd slammed on delays
- Nuclear subs not the answer to our needs
- Japan is crucial to our future
- Defence Department to open up on war information
- Dutch pull-out to change balance in Afghanistan
- NATO falls short in push for new trainers
- Afghanistan war: as civilian deaths rise, NATO says, ‘sorry’
1. How embattled PM played ‘jihad’ card, Jonathan Pearlman, Age, 2010-02-24
Kevin Rudd toughened his terrorism blueprint to highlight the threat from jihadist and home-grown terror despite resistance from officials within his department and the Attorney-General’s Department who were concerned the language was inflammatory and counter-productive.
- The Counter-Terrorism White Paper, Securing Australia – Protecting our Community, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2010-02-23, [PDF, 1.94MB]
- People-smuggling penalties bolstered, John Kerin, AFR*, 2010-02-24, *[Subscription required]
2. Rudd slammed on delays, John Kerin, AFR*, 2010-02-25
Australia’s peak defence industry body has slammed the Rudd government over the failure to release billions of dollars of promised new project tenders to the sector.
*[Subscription required]
3. Nuclear subs not the answer to our needs, Derek Woolner, AFR*, 2010-02-25
As the Australian navy develops plans to acquire new submarines to replace its current Collins class some are arguing that the new design should be nuclear powered; it might not be the wise choice.
*[Subscription required]
- Virtuous cycle of power, subs and desalination, Jon Stanford, AFR* 2010-02-22, *[Subscription required]
4. Japan is crucial to our future, Huge White, AFR*, 2010-02-24
When China inches ahead of Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world, the Rudd government promised to take Tokyo to court over whaling. The timing makes perfect sense in Canberra: in an election year, the environment minister is under pressure over home insulation, and climate change has become too messy to help the government.
*[Subscription required]
5. Defence Department to open up on war information, Mark Dodd, Australian, 2010-02-25
Defence Minister John Faulkner has urged more openness from the military on its conduct in Afghanistan, particularly on the plight of Diggers wounded in the conflict.
- Mendicants and manipulators: the ADF, the media and the reporting of Australia’s war in Afghanistan, Kevin Foster, Austral Policy Forum 09-18A, Nautilus Institute, 2009-09-10, [PDF, 212.8KB]
6. Dutch pull-out to change balance in Afghanistan, Dan Oakes, Age, 2010-02-25
Australian troops in Afghanistan could be at greater risk of attack if US troops take over from the Dutch as the lead nation in Oruzgan province, experts have said.
7. NATO falls short in push for new trainers, David Brunnstrom, Adam Entous, and Charles Dick, Reuters, 2010-02-24
NATO fell short on new commitments of troops to train the Afghan army and police force, leaving the alliance still having to find around 1,600 more by the end of the year.
- US slams European pacifism, Brad Norington, Australian, 2010-02-25
8. Afghanistan war: as civilian deaths rise, NATO says, ‘sorry’, Julius Cavendish, Christian Science Monitor, 2010-02-23
In the Afghanistan war, NATO forces chief Gen. Stanley McChrystal publicly apologized for 27 Afghan civilian deaths in a US airstrike. The coalition has begun saying ‘sorry’ more quickly to civilian deaths, as part of a new hearts and minds strategy.
- Afghanistan: UN official urges steps to prevent child deaths in conflict, UN News Centre, 2010-02-24