#WAR – IS THE ENEMY MORE AGILE, ADAPTABLE & SITUATIONALLY AWARE THAN US?
The continued success of the Australian Army Blog is good news – especially since our adversaries have been blogging for years. And while we in the West are guilty of dismissing enriched media[1] as the domain of cyber geeks and Twilight fans, our opponents have quite literally been developing ‘killerapps’.
The continued success of the Australian Army Blog is good news – especially since our adversaries have been blogging for years. And while we in the West are guilty of dismissing enriched media[1] as the domain of cyber geeks and Twilight fans, our opponents have quite literally been developing ‘killerapps’.
But if we didn’t do counter-insurgency, what would we do?
‘Unwanted, un-winnable and un-American’[1], limited war theory is today resiled by the very Western militaries who gave birth to it. Despite being waged successfully by many nations out of necessity and strategic choice, the question remains whether successful limited war is possible—a question both prospective and retrospective.
‘Unwanted, un-winnable and un-American’[1], limited war theory is today resiled by the very Western militaries who gave birth to it. Despite being waged successfully by many nations out of necessity and strategic choice, the question remains whether successful limited war is possible—a question both prospective and retrospective.
There is much talk of a possible peace-dividend for Australia with operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, East-Timor and the Solomon Islands concluded or drawing to a close. This is not the first time that a government has bid farewell to arms and found a soft source of cash to fund elsewhere. The Australian Defence Force should also beware of preparing for peace-keeping operations at the expense of maintaining its more serious capabilities based on the British Army’s fall from grace…
If you haven’t yet seen The Dark Knight Rises, then beware; for as they say in the classics “spoiler alert”.
I for one have come to love Batman. Not the super camp Adam West, nor the charming but cheesy world of Tim Burton and Michael Keaton. I am talking about Christian Bale’s tormented industrialist in Christopher Nolan’s latest incarnation. But how is Batman a symbol? Let’s consider the facts:
I for one have come to love Batman. Not the super camp Adam West, nor the charming but cheesy world of Tim Burton and Michael Keaton. I am talking about Christian Bale’s tormented industrialist in Christopher Nolan’s latest incarnation. But how is Batman a symbol? Let’s consider the facts:
In light of Governor Rick Perry’s recent decisions to drop out of the republican primaries we were saddened to think of the effect on at least one job. Josh Brolin is unlikely to be called upon to play President Rick Perry anytime soon. And with many current Australian politicians hard to tell apart from their core-flute cardboard cut-outs, we got to thinking…
Does any one remember the UN millennium goals from a few years ago? One of the suggestions for easing child poverty and disease in the 3rd world was to relax or forgive some of the more disadvantageous debts held by third world nations. How did that go? If your answer was ‘it didn’t’ then you would be right.
And yet here we are in 2011 and a ‘developed’ nation is now demanding (not pleading, but finger pointing) that the rest of Europe forgive 50% of its sovereign debt.
I don’t know if anyone has traveled to Athens recently, but…
And yet here we are in 2011 and a ‘developed’ nation is now demanding (not pleading, but finger pointing) that the rest of Europe forgive 50% of its sovereign debt.
I don’t know if anyone has traveled to Athens recently, but…
So why have I decided to write Uncommonwealth – well it is because I think Donald Horne was a douche. Not to hack on one of the pre-eminent thinkers and social critics of Australian public life in the 1960s – but he was well out of order.
Don’t know what I am blagging on about?
Don’t know what I am blagging on about?
It is just before dawn on the 25 April, 1915 (it was a Sunday), a few miles off the Gallipoli Peninsular one of the most famous pages in Australian history is about to be written in blood. Every Australian has heard the legend of ANZAC, fewer people know that it was a young man from 9 RQR who would be the first to leap into that page of history. His name was Duncan Chapman.
In the Spring of 2011, a number of Army Reserve soldiers of the 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment (9RQR), along with 37 Indigenous students committed a week of their school holidays to participate in a 102km walk, over 5
