North Korea recently successfully tested an ICBM capable of reaching Alaska, possibly the northwestern United States, and northern Australia. This has sparkled immediate reactions, ranging from direct threats of unilateral…
James ONeill
The Situation in Syria Just Became More Dangerous
The military situation in Syria took a significant step for the worse on 19 June 2017 when an American fighter jet shot down a Syrian fighter jet carrying out operations against ISIS. That was the latest in a series of foolhardy…
One Belt, One Road: Opportunities and Challenges for Australia
“China”, Napoleon once remarked, “is like a sleeping lion. Let here sleep, for when she awakens she will shake the world.” In 2013 in a speech delivered in Astana, Kazakhstan, China’s President Xi Jinping outlined an ambitious…
More to the Manchester Attack than the Media Would Have us Believe
The terrorist attack in Manchester where 22 people, including children, were killed and scores were injured, many critically, provoked an understandable sense of outrage into how and why this could happen. The answer to…
The Ongoing Disaster of Australia’s Policy in Afghanistan
According to a recent news report Australia is “open” to a request from the United States for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan. According to the report, Australian troops “mostly work in a training and support role aimed…
Syrian De-Escalation Memorandum a Significant Step
On 5 May 2017 following a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, a memorandum was signed by three of the principal parties involved in the Syrian conflict: Russia, Turkey and the Islamic state of Iran. It represents a significant step…
Time to Rethink Australian Defence Policy
The recent visit to Australia by the US Vice-President Mike Pence and statements by both Prime Minister Turnbull and Opposition leader Shorten have highlighted yet again the singularly dangerous path that Australia is following in…
Just Who Does Pose the Greater Threat in Korea?
The election of Donald Trump as US President has seen the ramping up of US rhetoric about North Korea. Trump recently demanded that China should use its influence with the North Koreans and if China did not intervene, then…
American Missile Strikes in Syria Raise Fresh Questions
In the early hours of Friday morning Australian time the United States fired 59 Tomahawk missiles from two of its warships in the Eastern Mediterranean. The target was the Shayrat Air Base in North Eastern Syria. The purported…
Verdict First, Evidence Later: How the Australian Media Misrepresent Geopolitical Events
“Let the jury consider their verdict”, the King said, for about the twentieth time that day. “No, no,” said the Queen. Sentence first – verdict afterward…
The London Attack: What We Fail to Acknowledge
The attack in Central London by a lone individual and the political response it invoked, highlights the hypocrisy that dominates western political thought in general, and none more so than in Australia. Last week a single…
A Tale of Two Cities: Aleppo and Mosul
The double standards of the western media are clearly demonstrated in the different treatment accorded the liberation of Aleppo by Syrian and Russian forces and the ongoing battle for the liberation of Mosul by ‘coalition’…