by Peter Jennings | Oct 23, 2023 | Indo Pacific, Policy
Israel’s intelligence services and military were clearly surprised by the Hamas attack but an equal mystery understanding what strategic goal Hamas was trying to achieve. Achieving surprise delivered Hamas a brief tactical advantage and a propaganda coup but the...
by Lesley Seebeck | Oct 19, 2023 | Policy, Strategy & Capability
New ideas, structural reform are needed – not just more money. The 2023-2030 Australian Government cyber strategy looks likely to be announced soon. It’s unlikely to be backed by substantial new funding. Across the board, in the defence and national...
by Marcus Hellyer | Oct 17, 2023 | Defence Budget, Strategy & Capability
The ghost of Christmas yet to come scared the bejesus out of old Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol with its vision of Scrooge’s miserable future. The Australian Army’s failed utility helicopter transition is scaring the bejesus out of me because...
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | Oct 13, 2023 | China, Podcasts, Ukraine
The Israel-Hamas war, deterrence failures & hostage diplomacy Beijing style | RSS.com In this episode, Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge discuss the implications of Hamas’ mass murders, and what Ukraine and Hamas mean for strategies of deterrence...
by Michael Shoebridge | Oct 12, 2023 | Strategy & Capability
Hamas’ murderous attack into Israel used a combination of high tech and low tech tools and weapons. The planners banked on Israeli security forces seeing the rocket and missile barrage launched by Hamas as the main attack – and also relied on Israelis assuming...
by Michael Shoebridge | Oct 10, 2023 | Strategy & Capability
Hamas terrorists entered Israel on Saturday with two goals: to kill as many Israelis as possible and to abduct large numbers to be used as hostages, human shields and victims of later atrocities. The death toll so far from this is over 900 Israelis and over 600...
by Lesley Seebeck | Oct 10, 2023 | Europe, Ukraine
We are in a febrile period of transition in terms of global politics, as well as the development and deployment of technologies, and ways of bringing effects to bear, whether in economics, warfare, or politics. Just when defence ministries were starting to refocus on...
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | Oct 3, 2023 | AUKUS, China, Podcasts
Army shape shifting, helicopter troubles & Mr Albanese goes to Washington & Beijing | RSS.com In Episode 4 the Grumpy Strategists cover the restructuring of the Australian Army in the aftermath of the Defence Strategic Review, as well as setting out the...
by Lesley Seebeck | Sep 27, 2023 | Policy
That government has a consulting problem is old news. The focus so far has largely been on PwC; the other consultancies are mostly keeping their heads down, with an air of ‘there but for the grace of god’. Little attention has been paid as to how the public...
by Peter Jennings | Sep 27, 2023 | China, Defence Budget, South Pacific
There was a touch of Fidel Castro in Manasseh Sogavare’s speech at the UN last week. In a collarless Mao suit the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare delivered an ardent tirade against the “toxic mix of geopolitical power politics” afflicting the Pacific. Barring...
