Well, well, well. the Pentagon’s AUKUS review is out – well, actually under lock and key, but apparently its’ great news that is about “strengthening” AUKUS. Hard to know how something that was flawlessly on track could need or be strengthened….Australian & US defence and foreign policy heads met in a steamy AUSMIN meeting leaving the rest of us in the dark while they got close. Meanwhile, the jarringly self-congratulatory grievance filled US National Security Strategy is out, bringing back the 19th Century idea of spheres of influence, this time for America, Russia and China. The fragments of remaining commitment to allies & any sense of collective security will be seized on by governments pretending everything is still good, but any engagement with the changed America the NSS describes will look very different. Foreign interference is out unless it’s done to US friends & allies, or makes a buck.