Australia's mission in Afghanistan is a failure, as Hugh White says, but that failure derives from a much larger failure of American policy.
Category: War and peace
Israel throws the switch to security
Benjamin Netanyahu is about to embark on the task of building a new governing coalition. Good timing, then, that Israel's security concerns are in the headlines this week, rather than the possibly more troublesome domestic matters.
A theological view of nuclear weapons
Iran stresses the importance of Ayatollah Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons. Should we take him seriously?
Austria votes to keep conscription
Austrians voted yesterday to retain military conscription, in a victory for the centre-right ahead of this year's general election. But that's very much going against the trend in Europe. It's also something of a reversal of the usual position.
Torture goes to the movies
A film about the hunt for bin Laden puts torture in the spotlight. Will America face up to what Bush and Cheney did?
So, what’s Mali, and should we care?
Mali isn't Iraq. It isn't even Afghanistan. But whether that's enough to promise success for François Hollande, only time will tell.
Is Obama a realist?
Chuck Hagel's nomination brings back into focus the old debate between realists and idealists over American foreign policy.
Obama picks his man for the Pentagon
Former Republican senator Chuck Hagel is to be the new US defence secretary – provided he's confirmed by the Senate. It looks as if Obama has picked the right man for the times.
The World is Not Enough 