Bevan Ramsden. 30 March 2021. 20 March 2021 marks 18 years since Australia made the decision to join the United States in the disastrous war of aggression against Iraq. No Australian public Inquiry into the reasons and political responsibilities for that decision has been held, and one is very much needed, as war clouds develop […]
Bruce Duncan. 30 March 2021. During his recent visit to Iraq, Pope Francis revived hopes for deep reconciliation and renewed collaboration among the ancient religious traditions of that land, but he came as a ‘penitent’, and apologised for the invasion of Iraq and the resulting despoliation over 18 years. Australia was one of the few […]
Greg Lockhart. 5 March 2021. There are disturbing parallels between what occurred in Afghanistan and what occurred in Vietnam 50 years earlier than that. The accidental killing of innocents is one link. So is the intelligence vacuum into which our expeditionary military tradition sucked us in both countries. The Brereton Report [released in November 2020] […]
1 December 2020 The Brereton Report will shine a light on alleged war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan. It is expected that a culture of impunity within the special forces will be highlighted as a significant factor in perpetuating crimes against Afghan civilians. Any change that is to occur as a result of […]
1 November 2020. With the Taiwan dilemma deepening, Australia might be forced to take a stand As the United States gets closer to an unusually divisive election potentially followed by months of distracting disputation, will China take the immense gamble of trying to invade Taiwan, or at least strangle it into submission? If so, Australia […]
Posted 7 April 2020. A response to the film. Terrence Malick’s latest film, A Hidden Life, provides an account of the life and death of Franz Jägerstätter, the Austrian Catholic family man and farmer who refused to fight in Hitler’s war. The film portrays Franz, his wife Franziska (Fani), and their three daughters as important […]
The real story behind the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Posted 7 April 2020. In response to the suicide attacks on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001, the US issued an ultimatum to Afghanistan’s Taliban regime to hand over Osama bin Laden and the other Al Qaeda leaders or else the US would invade the […]
Stefan Gigacz 26 January 2020 Catholic Outlook ParramattaPosted 10 March 2020 On 27 January this year, the world will commemorate the liberation by Soviet troops of the infamous camp at Auschwitz, where so many people perished during the Second World War. Sadly, this was not the end for all camps. Many people would continue to die […]
Paul Barratt. Posted 28 November 2019. Where we are today is that the practice of the last twenty years has purportedly taken away the power to send Australia to war from the Governor-General, and placed it at the disposal of junior ministers in the Defence portfolio. This cannot be allowed to stand. The war powers […]
Susan Connelly. A great deal is being written about the violence and deaths in Papua and West Papua, the two provinces of Indonesia which occupy the western half of the island of New Guinea. But what is being done about it? The confusion of names in this region exacerbates the problem. West Irian, Irian Jaya, […]
Brian Toohey. Labor governments surrendered Australian sovereignty by agreeing in 2008 to renew the lease on North West Cape without any conditions on how US nuclear attack submarines could use the base[i]. This could include undermining China’s ability to deter a nuclear war[ii]. Labor subsequently agreed to let the US install long-range ground sensors at […]
