"Defender": Autumn 2005

The complete issue may be downloaded here. Individual pdf versions of key commentary, articles and reviews may be downloaded below. The Major Furphy column may be downloaded separately from the Major Furphy page.

Editorial

We need a real defence debate: The latest limited military commitment to Iraq shows, if nothing else, the significant inadequacies in our defence preparedness and the need for a real defence debate

Commentary:

The tsunami which devastated Aceh has been a catalyst for further strengthening the problematic strategic relationship between Australia and Indonesia

Our renewed military effort in Iraq was as inevitable as it was resisted

Most analogies put forward between the wars in Vietnam and Iraq demonstrate a substantial lack of knowledge of either war

The Senate Estimates session on the "Barton Affair" wasted too much time on peripheral issues

The 4-Corners program featuring Rod Barton's allegations was tendentious and obscured the real lessons stemming from the incompetent way Barton was deployed to Iraq

The light sentence pronounced on Abu Bakar Bashir is unfair but explicable. Australia needs to be careful lest our indignation allows Islamist bigots like Bashir to portray themselves as victims of foreign meddling in Indonesia and in the practice of Islam

Articles:

Whole-of-Government Reform: A Practical First Step by Neil James

Rising China: The Risk of Miscalculation by Professor Robyn Lim

Dangers Every Bit As Great: Remodelling the Paradigms of Australian Strategic Policy Debate
by Dr Paul Monk

Danger on Our Doorstep: Organised Crime Takes Hold in Papua New Guinea by Mark Forbes

Matching Performance to Promise: Rebuilding the Army Reserve
by Major General Warren Glenny (Retd)

Going Down to the Sea in Big Enough Ships by Billy Ruffian

ADF Tactical Airlift Options by Ian Bostock

Reviews:

Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction by Professor Harry Sidebottom
(reviewed by Dr Malcolm Kennedy)

Quinn's Post, Anzac, Gallipoli by Dr Peter Stanley
(reviewed by Major General Mike O'Brien (Retd))

The Royal Australian Navy in World War II (Second Edition) by Dr David Stephens (Editor)
(reviewed by Rear Admiral David Campbell, RAN (Retd))

Facing Asia: A History of the Colombo Plan by Dr Daniel Oakman
(reviewed by Dr Malcolm Kennedy)

Asian Alternatives: Australia's Vietnam Decision and Lessons on Going to War by Garry Woodard (reviewed by Professor Peter Edwards)

The Cruel Legacy: The HMAS Voyager Tragedy by Dr Tom Frame
(reviewed by Dr Ian Pfennigwerth)

In the Shadow of Swords: On the Trail of Terrorism from Afghanistan to Australia
by Sally Neighbour (reviewed by Tony LeRay-Meyer)

Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton (Second Edition) by Professor Martin van Creveld
(reviewed by Brigadier George Yacoub (Retd))