Australia-United States Relations
Obama 'doesn't have a strategy yet' for ISIS. Do we?
President Obama is already being pilloried for his statement, made in a press conference earlier today, that 'we don't have a strategy yet' for combating ISIS. No strategy? This…
AUSMIN 2014: What are we getting ourselves into?
Here's The Australian's Greg Sheridan on this week's AUSMIN talks:
...the two governments committed to establish a working group on integrating their efforts on ballistic…
Australia's new activism: The view from Washington
When US officials talk about the US-Australia alliance, they almost always highlight, as President Obama did in his November 2011 speech in Canberra, that Australians have fought…
Why the US (and Australia) should go back to Iraq
ISIS's dramatic seizure of Mosul last week has caused much geo-strategic hyperventilation. Commentators are variously predicting the collapse of Iraq and eulogising (once again)…
Australia-US defence deal: What it means
This morning Prime Minister Tony Abbott and US President Barack Obama announced the conclusion of a series of agreements between the US and Australia. Chief among these is the US…
Allure of normalcy: America's first-order foreign policy issues
Last week saw the publishing of Robert Kagan's latest essay for New Republic magazine: 'Allure of Normalcy: what America still owes the world'. It is a magisterial contribution…
Defence spending: 2% target still a useful alliance measure
It is good to see a widening of the debate on this issue, and Andrew Carr and Peter Dean have done a commendable job of covering the political history of the 2 % of GDP…
Australian defence exports: Beyond Bushmaster
Since 2007, the Defence Materiel Organisation has run an office charged with boosting Australia's defence exports. The Defence Export Unit, as it was initially known, was…
Bases, places and boots on the ground: A review of 'Rebalancing US Forces'
The prologue of Rebalancing US Forces, a new book edited by US Naval War College professors Carnes Lord and Andrew Erickson, opens with Barack Obama's speech in to the Australian…
Defence budget: 2% target essential for Australia's alliance
Ric Smith, Andrew Carr and Peter Dean all present a compelling case as to why a 2% of GDP target for defence spending does not constitute a strategy. But this completely…