1. Australian Govt. Boosts Iraq Troops
2. Hundreds Killed in Afghanistan Battle
3. East Timor: Venom Threatens Separate Mission
4. Pacific: A Neighbourhood Living on the Edge
5. Australia and the Nuclear Renaissance

1. Govt Boosts Iraq Troops, AAP, Australian, 2006-09-04

   The Federal Government has increased the size of its troop commitment to southern Iraq and placed more armoured vehicles under its command. An additional 38 Australian Defence force personnel will be deployed to Tallil to support the operational battle group. Four armoured Bushmasters will also be deployed bringing to 19 the Bushmasters that will be provided to the operational battle group.

   • Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, Pentagon Report to Congress, August 2006 [PDF]

   • Diggers Want Troop Carriers Reinforced, AAP, SMH, 2006-09-01

   • Additional Troops for Operation Overwatch, Defence Department Media Release MIN127/06

      

2. Hundreds Killed in Afghanistan Battle, AFP, Australian, 2006-09-04

   Four Canadian soldiers were killed today in a major anti-Taliban operation in southern Afghanistan, the defence ministry said, as NATO said the rebel death toll over two days was around 200. British forces were meanwhile preparing to repatriate the remains of 14 soldiers killed when their plane crashed yesterday, the first day of Operation Medusa which involves about 2,000 Afghan and NATO military personnel.

   • Allies Balk at More Troops for Afghanistan, FT*, 2006-08-30
     Subscription required.

   • NATO in Afghanistan [regularly updated]

   • Operation Slipper, Australia’s Contribution to the Coalition against Terrorism, Department of Defence, 2006-07-27

      

3. Venom Threatens Separate Mission, David Nason, Australian, 2006-09-04

   The aggressive anti-Australian tone of East Timor’s response to the Becora prison breakout is a sure sign that Canberra will have great difficulty winning an extension when the joint “green helmet-blue helmet” security arrangement is reviewed by the UN Security Council next month. [Many Australians] may well ask why Australia – given the clear opposition of the East Timorese and so many others in the international community – has been so insistent about operating separately from the UN in the first place.

   • Jailhouse Blues in Timor, Editorial, SMH, 2006-09-01

   • Indonesia Tightens Security along Timor Border, Newswire.co.nz, 2006-09-04

      

4. A Neighbourhood Living on the Edge, Hamish McDonald, SMH, 2006-09-02

   John Howard is drumming up more army battalions for future crises in our neighbourhood. But, this is addressing only the symptoms of the malaise in countries like Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, the result of populations abandoned halfway between tribal custom and the modern economy.

   • PNG: Dejected Police Fight a Losing Battle, Hamish McDonald, SMH, 2006-08-04

   • Solomon Islands to Push for Joint Border Patrols with PNG at Talks, RNZI, 2006-09-04

      

5. Australia and the Nuclear Renaissance, Tom Morton ABC, Background Briefing, 2006-09-03

   Nuclear is back. Australia, with its abundant ore and ‘good guy’ status could become a key member of the uranium enricher’s club. But what would the neighbours think? And how would the twin threats of weapons proliferation and waste disposal be addressed?

   • Australia Assures Indonesia: ‘We’ve No Nuke Plans’, AFP, Spacewar.Com, 2006-09-03

   • Australian Uranium Exports and Security: Preventing Proliferation, Strategic Insight 28, ASPI*, 2006-08-31
     * Subscription required.

      

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