The Pakistani Mecca of terror

Almost seven decades after it was created as the first Islamic republic of the postcolonial era, Pakistan is teetering on the edge of an abyss. The economy is stagnant, unemployment is high, and resources are …

Oz Strategists: Des Ball (1947–2016)

Des Ball was an extraordinary Oz strategist in range and depth. Des, who died last week, was a virtuoso on global strategy, Asia–Pacific security and Australian defence policy. He worked at the highest level on …

ASPI suggests

Professor Desmond Ball AO, a towering figure of issues strategic and defence, passed away on Wednesday after a long illness. While Graeme Dobell will reflect on Des’ enormous impact in his Monday column, a few …

ISIS spreads its roots in the Philippines

Last month, Australian Secret Intelligence Service Director-General Nick Warner warned that ISIS affiliates are ‘in Australia’s backyard’, posing a growing threat to Australia’s national security. During a rare public appearance in Washington DC, he told …

Bombing and civilians—then and now

There’s been a slew of criticism recently of Russian and Saudi bombing of civilian areas during Middle East conflicts. And there’s evidence that the Russian bombing campaign in particular isn’t going out of its way …

National security wrap

The Beat Rampant mortgage fraud in Oz A new UBS survey has revealed the extent of ‘systemic’ mortgage fraud across Australia. Of the 1,228 recent homebuyers surveyed, 28% admitted to misrepresenting information on their mortgage …

Interpreting the ASC split

Yesterday the Australian government (with the PM and three cabinet ministers in attendance) announced that it’s going to split ASC into three separate but still government-owned companies, to ‘support the key capabilities of shipbuilding, submarine …

Cyber wrap

The Australian Cyber Security Centre released its second annual Threat Report today, providing a useful breakdown of the number and type of cyber incidents that the Centre has dealt with in 2016, and some interesting …

Putting the populist revolt in its place

In many Western democracies, this is a year of revolt against elites. The success of the Brexit campaign in Britain, Donald Trump’s unexpected capture of the Republican Party in the United States, and populist parties’ …

Duterte changes the South China Sea tone

Rodrigo Duterte is a maddening, murderous maverick who’s achieved a weird feat in the South China Sea (SCS)—delivering benefits to both China and the United States. His swing towards China offers Beijing all sorts of …

ASPI suggests

With 32 days to go we’re rolling, rolling, rolling towards the US election. The read of the week is a reflection on Donald Trump by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. It was Carter (with his …

Russia’s ephemeral Middle East alliances

The United States has lost two asymmetric wars in modern times: one against the Vietcong in Vietnam, and another against terrorist groups in the Middle East. When its defeat became apparent in Vietnam, the US …