THE (AUSTRALIAN AUTHORISED) STRONGMAN

This piece ran on Saturday. It's about 'MK', a very clever Afghan who's on his way to bigger things . . .

PAKISTAN'S REACTION TO AUSTRALIA'S POSTURING

Sorry, I've gotten a bit behind while attempting to keep the filing of columns up. This News story ran on Monday 28th March . . .

AUSTRALIA'S HEROIN CROP

Shh! No onc's allowed to talk about the poppy crop we're condoning . . .

THE POPPY CROP

This year's crop of poppies are about an inch high in Oruzgan - and the farmers are predicting a boom crop.

This story's about the completely ineffective 'war on drugs' . . .

THE PALACE OF PEACE

Everything is tragic in Afghanistan, but perhsps nothing more so than reminders of the past and what could have been . . .

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year, well, Narouz, anyway.

Afghanistan (sensibly) uses the Persian calender, where the first day of Spring is celebrated as the beginning of the year. Yesterday I watched as a flower blossomed, springing into life in front of my eyes.

But with this come questions over the countries future, and what will happen next . . .

SPY GAMES

In the years of Empire the European powers sought to extend their grip over central Asia. This rivalry quickly became known as "the great game".

In Islamabad it still sometimes appears as if the new powers are playing out their own spy novel fantasy thrillers, without regard for the people of the region.

This was my take from Islamabad . . .

KILLING DOESN'T LEAD TO VICTORY

We've been, quite rightly, distracted by Lybia and Japan over the last week. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the killing goes on . . .

BOMBING LYBIA

The idea of bombing Lybia seems to be pobular in the West at the moment. But, as this short piece of analysis makes clear, a few problems remain . . .

A BRIDGING COLUMN

Possession of a grand strategy is vital.

Nations, as well as individuals, need to understand where they are going.

I'm about to travel to Afghanistan. This column is intended as a 'bridge', moving from the entrails of Australian politics to the broader scope of strategy.

THE VACUMN AT THE TOP

Tony Abbott's strategy appears (in the light of todays Newspoll, showing Labor's support bumping along at its lowest ever level) to be scoring points.

It's a pity that he's winning by simply opposing, rather than putting forward an alternative view of how the country can 'move forward'.

A MILITARY DEBACLE

If five of our submarines were sunk, leaving us exposed, it would be a disaster. If our entire amphibious fleet was destroyed, we would demand vengance from the power that dismantled the capability.

When it happens in peace-time - we just shrug.

Is no one to be held accountable for the crisis in our military?

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE NAVY?

Something has gone very wrong.

In Feburary Defence Minister Stephen Smith was informed that the entire Navy's amphibious cababliity had rusted so badly it couldn't be used. This article seeks to understand why and how this has happened.

COMPLEXITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

This column began with a simple idea: complex systems are particularly vulnerable to disasters.

Unfortunately this gets a bit buried under the current political analysis that begins the piece. If you're interested in some further analysis try this piece from the Financial Times; http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5c7fa72e-3d20-11e0-bbff-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss&ftcamp=crm/email/2011221/nbe/Comment/product#axzz1FD5R5QbD