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For the second time in a little over ten years, the US and its allies seem about to launch hostilities against an Arab country on the basis of the possession or use of chemical weapons. They have made clear that while they may seek a Security Council resolution, they do not consider themselves bound by it. This is worrying.
In some ways the intense focus on chemical weapons and red lines is diversionary. Enough blood has been spilt to paint a thousand red lines. 100,000+ people have been killed already. Is it somehow easier on the International Community’s conscience to think of families being ripped apart by artillery shells than dying from chemical warfare?
Our gun was not some inanimate piece of metal; it was an object designed with malignant intent, one swiftly transformed into an instrument of violence. The day we handed it in was one of the happiest of my life. It takes a mature society to handle weapons responsibly, and a truly liberated one to relinquish them altogether.
Four new studies on the health crisis in Fallujah have been released in the last three months. The studies suggest babies are dying of wounds from a war they never saw. Australia has already breached its admirable 'Australian Agenda' at the UN, succumbing to US pressure to abstain from a vote on depleted uranium weapons.
A long-standing principle of arms control is that some regimes deserve lethal weapons, and others do not. But who is or is not a desirable dealer is often an open question. Australia adds to the confusion: one Brisbane weapon-maker's claim to fame is the creation of an electronic gun capable of firing a million bullets a minute.
Catholics get used to being asked why they are Catholic. These days, in light of cases of clergy sex abuse and cover-ups, and perceived abuse of authority and contempt for women, the question is more accusatory: 'Why are you still a Catholic?' The recent affair of the Pope's butler provides a way out of this interrogation.
Iran's Islamic regime has been showing signs of fatigue. But threats of sanctions and military action by the international community, prompted by reports that Iran has been designing nuclear weapons, could be its saviour. The regime thrives on this kind of tension.
With no hint of regret or apology, John Howard has defended his decision to join the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He gives no consideration to the just war criteria. This is not surprising, as on all these principles the case for a just war fails.
An earlier generation of politicians feared impoverished Asian hordes would pour down and eat our lunch. Current PM Kevin Rudd worries their offspring can now afford to come armed with the latest weapons and steal it. His fretting comes at great cost to the nation.
Last week Israel's air force unveiled its Heron TP fleet of unmanned aircraft, which it says can travel as far as Iran. War by remote control is faceless. We remain at a distance from those with whom we disagree. There is no basis for trust.
A new Bush Administration policy opens the door to proportionate nuclear strikes against states that transfer fissile material to terrorists — even if the material is stolen, not knowingly leaked. Such a 'negligence doctrine' increases the chance of inadvertent nuclear war.
Reviews of Frontier Justice: Weapons of mass destruction and the bushwacking of America; Best Australian political cartoons and Quarterly Essay, ‘Made in England: Australia’s British Inheritance’.
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