APSNet 27 July 2009

1. Death inquiry reveals Afghan troop failings
2. MoD sends 125 troops to Afghanistan after heavy losses
3. Mini-reactors shrink nuclear threat
4. Pacific Islanders cry for help
5. Corruption fighters rouse resistance in Indonesia
6. Indonesia: The hotel bombings
7. India launches its first nuclear sub

1. Death inquiry reveals Afghan troop failings, Tom Hyland, Age, 2009-07-26

An official inquiry into the combat death of an Australian soldier reveals serious failings by the Afghan troops he was mentoring, highlighting the massive task facing foreign forces in building the capacity of the Afghan army. The inquiry report shows Afghan troops played only a limited role when a joint Australian-Afghan patrol came under intense Taliban fire — even though the Afghans are likely to have formed the bulk of the patrol.

• Inquiry officer’s report into the death of Corporal Mathew Hopkins in Afghanistan on 16th of March 2009, Department of Defence, 2009-07-24 [PDF, 116KB]
• Forward patrol base Buman, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute
• Government Inquiries – Afghanistan, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute
• Casualties – ADF, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute

2. MoD sends 125 troops to Afghanistan after heavy losses, Thomas Harding, Telegraph, 2009-07-24

The heavy toll of casualties for British troops in Afghanistan has forced the military to draft in reinforcements as the Chief of the Defence staff warned that more lives will be lost in the campaign.

3. Mini-reactors shrink nuclear threat, Amanda O’Brien, Australian, 2009-07-23

A new generation of smaller, “non-threatening” nuclear power plants being developed in South Africa could open the door to nuclear power in Australia years earlier than expected. Ziggy Switkowski, the head of the nation’s peak nuclear agency, said the new mini-reactors — which are a tenth the size of conventional nuclear power stations — would help ease community fears in Australia about nuclear power.

• Carbon price revives push for Australian nuclear power industry, Fran Kelly with Ziggy Switkowski, ABC, 2009-07-24
• An Update of the MIT 2003 Future of Nuclear Power Study, MIT 2009 [PDF, 224KB]
• Overnight Costs of New Nuclear Reactors, Submission to the Ontario Energy Board, Jim Harding, for the Green Energy Coalition, Pembina Institute and Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, 2008-08-01 [PDF, 132KB]
• Australia as a supplier of uranium to the Asian region: Implications, Stuart Harris, RSPAS, ANU, July 2009 [PDF, 200KB]
• Wind and solar are not enough, says Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, Matthew Franklin, Australian, 2009-07-24
• Don’t shut down debate on nuclear power: Mundine, Katharine Murphy, Age, 2009-07-24
• Nuclear mining debate raises ire in Qld, Mark Ludlow, AFR*, 2009-07-25
  * Subscription required.

4. Pacific Islanders cry for help, Brendan Nicholson, SMH, 2009-07-27

Regional leaders are preparing to bombard the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, with dire warnings about global warming and pleas for help at next week’s summit of the Pacific Island Forum. They will make clear their concern that they are already feeling the first devastating impact of rising sea levels and increasingly violent storms while Australia and other developed nations remain embroiled in debate about possible solutions.

• The Future is here: Climate change in the Pacific, Nic Maclellan, Oxfam 2009-07-27 [PDF, 3.3MB]
• A fair-weather friend: Australia’s relationship with a climate-changed Pacific, Louise Collett, Australia Institute, 2009-07-27

5. Corruption fighters rouse resistance in Indonesia, Norimitsu Onishi, NYT, 2009-07-25

The nation’s Parliament, police force and attorney general’s office have increasingly been caught in the cross hairs of the anticorruption commission’s investigations, and members of those bodies are trying to undermine the commission. Even Mr. Yudhoyono, who has made fighting corruption a main theme of his administration, said recently that the commission “seems to be accountable only to God.”

• Final results confirm victory for Indonesia’s president, Norimitsu Onishi, NYT, 2009-07-24

6. Indonesia: The hotel bombings, ICG, 2009-07-24

The easiest step and the most unwise would be to turn the anti-terrorism law into an internal security act that allowed for lengthy preventive detention. Instead, Indonesia needs continued attention to community policing, more attention to JI-affiliated schools that offer protection to men like Noordin and opportunities for recruitment, more understanding of international linkages, better intelligence and more support for prison reform.

7. India launches its first nuclear sub, Matt Wade, Age, 2009-07-27

India, in a show of its rising military strength, has launched its first home-built nuclear submarine. When fully operational, the submarine will be capable of firing nuclear-armed ballistic missiles with a 700-kilometre range. This means India would be able to launch nuclear weapons from land, air and sea. The historic launch comes amid rapidly expanding military ties between Australia and India.

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Richard Tanter,
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