Major Gen (Retd) Jim Molan, author of Running the War in Iraq, writes:
Paul Scanlan and I are in violent agreement.
I predict that a force structure review, conducted today, that looked at the strategic environment to determine what Australia NEEDS compared with what the government thinks it can afford, would be little different from Force 2030.
And just because the government thinks it cannot afford the force structure we need, does not mean we should put all our eggs in one basket. It is essential to start from the strategic need and then proceed to what can be afforded, because then you at least know what to keep in the sub-optimal force we end up with.
If a threat from a large Asian land power eventuates, we may need to become more focused than balanced, but it is far too soon for that because we do not know if a threat will develop and what the nature of that threat might be.