Anzac's Dirty Dozen (45 page)

28
  ‘Australia marks end of Iraq combat mission',
ABC News
, 2 June 2008, <
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/02/2262174.htm
>, (accessed 16 June 2011); ‘Overwatch Battle Group (West)', <
www.australian-armour.com/OBG(W).html
>, (accessed 16 June 2011).

29
  A. Smith,
Improvised Explosives Devices in Iraq 2003–1009: A Case of
Operational Surprise and Institutional Response
, Strategic Studies Institute, Carlisle, 2011, p. 40.

30
  Casualty figures sourced from <
icasualties.org/Iraq/ByProvince.aspx
>, (accessed 16 June 2011).

31
  M. Armstrong, ‘Not hearts and minds: Civil-military cooperation in OBG(W)-3',
Australian Army Journal
, 8(1), Autumn 2011, pp. 64–65 and 73.

32
  Casualty figures are from <
icasualties.org/Iraq/Nationality.aspx
>, (accessed 15 June 2011).

33
  Department of Defence, ‘Operation Catalyst', <
www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opcatalyst/index.htm
>, (accessed 15 June 2011).

34
  J. Birmingham, ‘A time for war: Australia as a military power',
Quarterly Essay
, 20, 2005, p. 19.

35
  S. Naylor,
Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda
, Berkley Books, New York, 2005, pp. 87 & 158.

36
  G. Sheridan, ‘The finest troops, but mission bound to fail',
The Australian
, 8 June 2011.

37
  Department of Defence, ‘Afghanistan Fact Sheet', <
www.defence.gov.au/op/afghanistan/info/factsheet.htm
>, (accessed 16 June 2011).

38
  Figures are drawn from
The Military Balance 2011
, Routledge, London, 2011.

39
  For Australian figures see Department of Defence, ‘Global operations', <
www.defence.gov.au/op/index.htm
>, (accessed 3 June 2011); for Canadian figures see Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, ‘International operations', <
www.comfec-cefcom.forces.gc.ca/pa-ap/ops/index-eng.asp
>, (accessed 3 June 2011). For a list of operations for both countries see
The Military Balance 2011
.

40
  For Libyan figures see the operation's fact sheet, <
www.comfec-cefcom.forces.gc.ca/pa-ap/ops/mobile/index-eng.asp
>, (accessed 17 June 2011).

41
  ‘Joint Task Force Afghanistan: Composition as of 30 November 2010', CEFCOM, <
www.comfec-cefcom.forces.gc.ca/pa-ap/ops/fs-fr/jtfa-foia-eng.asp
>, (accessed 3 June 2011).

42
  Figures from <
icasualties.org/OEF/Nationality.aspx
>, (accessed 17 June 2011).

43
  J. Molan, ‘Afghanistan: The case for 6000 Australian troops',
The Interpreter
, 25 March 2009.

44
  For an example see ‘No Afghanistan troop boost, says Kevin Rudd',
APP
, 15 October 2009, <
www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/no-afghanistan-troop-boost-says-kevin-rudd/story-e6frfku9-1225787079953
>, (accessed 17 June 2011).

45
  S. Sara, ‘Australia “punching above its weight” in Afghanistan',
ABC News
, 1 May 2010, <
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/012887664.htm
>, (accessed 17 May 2011); K. Tranter, ‘US wants us to fill the void in Afghanistan',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 24 May 2010.

46
  For examples see B. West,
The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of
Afghanistan
, Random House, New York, 2011, pp. 248–49; P. Bishop,
Ground
Truth, 3 Para: Return to Afghanistan
, Harper Press, London, 2009, p. 36.

47
  W. Mason, ‘Diggers need freedom to win freedom',
The Australian
, 6 July 2010.

48
  R. Shanahan, ‘What did you do in the war, Australia?'
The Interpreter
, 12 March 2010.

49
  ‘Assessing Australia's Afghan effort,'
The Australian
, 27 December 2008.

50
  N. Bensahel, ‘International alliances and military effectiveness: Fighting alongside allies and partners', in R.A. Brooks & E.A. Stanley 9eds),
Creating
Military Power: The Sources of Military Effectiveness
, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2007, p. 188.

51
  Thomson,
Punching above our weight?
, p. 11; see also, P. Hartcher, ‘Smith calls for more overseas clout',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 23 April 2008.

52
  Birmingham, ‘A time for war', p. 8.

53
  Quoted in G. Sheridan, ‘The finest troops, but mission bound to fail',
The
Australian
, 8 June 2011, p. 8.

54
  C. Stewart, ‘Not a single submarine seaworthy',
The Australian
, 10 June 2011,
p. 5; D. Oakes, ‘Neglect of amphibious fleet triggers Defence inquiry,
Sydney
Morning Herald
, 16 February 2011; and J. Molan, ‘Defensively speaking, Australia finds itself on dangerous ground',
The Australian
, 14 June 2011, p. 10.

55
  Molan, ‘Defensively speaking', p. 10; Shanahan, ‘What did you do in the war, Australia?'; & Thomson, ‘Punching above our weight,' pp. 10–11.

11  Critical reflections on the Australia–US alliance

Michael McKinley

  
1
  Commonwealth of Australia,
Defending Australia in the Asia-Pacific Century:
Force 2030
, Defence White Paper 2009, Australian Government, Canberra, 2009.

  
2
  G. Evans & B. Grant,
Australia's Foreign Relations in the World of the 1990s
, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1991, p. 308.

  
3
  J. Vasquez,
The Power of Power Politics
, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 1983, p. 220.

  
4
  I should like to acknowledge the benefit of long, helpful conversations with my friend and colleague, Jim George, on the ideas pertaining to this section. I have also benefited immeasurably from his writings on the meta-theory of realism and the critique it has attracted.

  
5
  D. Day,
The Great Betrayal: Britain, Australia and the Onset of the Pacific War
, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1988, esp. p. 351.

  
6
  J. Rusbridger & E. Nave,
Betrayal at Pearl Harbour: How Churchill Lured
Roosevelt into WWII
, Summit, New York, 1991, pp. 99–106.

  
7
  
Defending Australia in the Asia-Pacific Century
.

  
8
  J.N. Rosenau, ‘Peripheral international relationships in a more benign world: Reflections on American orientation towards ANZUS', paper presented to the conference on Australia, New Zealand and the United States: National Evolution and Alliance Relations, phase 1, Socio-Political Change and National Images, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, 24–26 August 1988, p. 2.

  
9
  B. Toohey & M. Wilkinson,
The Book of Leaks: Exposes in Defence of the Public's
Right to Know
, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1987, pp. 130-42

10
  The arguments and conclusions summarised in the following reflect the findings of the writer's own survey of the recent intelligence literature which, it must be said, is voluminous. Only in the interests of brevity is the writer's unpublished but publicly presented survey (which is currently undergoing revision) cited: see M. McKinley, ‘The alliance intelligence benefit and Australia: A challenge to the prevailing orthodoxy', paper presented to the 32nd Annual Convention of the International Studies Association's panel on ‘Topics in Intelligence and National Security', Vancouver, British Columbia, 21 March, 1991. A broader analysis of US intelligence is to be found in M. McKinley, ‘American intelligence as American knowing',
Alternatives
, 21(1), 1996, pp. 31–66.

11
  The clearest expression of the defensibility of Australia is to be found in the ‘Review of Australia's Defence Capabilities: Report to the Minister for Defence' by P. Dibb. See also D. Ball, ‘The ANZUS connection: The
security relationship between Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America', in T.J. Hearn (ed.),
Arms, Disarmament and New Zealand: The
Papers and Proceedings of the Eighteenth Foreign Policy School 1983
, University of Otago, Dunedin, 1983, pp. 79–83.

12
  P. Seabury & A. Codevilla,
War: Ends and Means
, Basic Books, New York, 1989, p. 128.

13
  For a full account of the works consulted in this paragraph see G. Cheesman & M. McKinley, ‘Australia's regional security policies 1970–1990: Some critical reflections', Working paper No. 101, Australian National University Research School of Pacific Studies, Peace Research Centre, pp. 35–37.

14
  Cheesman & McKinley, ‘Australia's regional security policies 1970–1990', p. 37.

15
  This argument is made at length in M. McKinley, ‘The battle', in I. Bickerton et.al.,
43 Days: The Gulf War
, Text/ABC Books, Melbourne, 1991.

16
  A recent case in point concerned the software for the weapons systems on Australia's F/A-18 and F-111 aircraft: see J. Edwards, ‘US happy to sell us weapons, but not the instructions',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 22 March 1989, p. 1.

17
  R. Fox & J. Field,
The Defense Management Challenge: Weapons Acquisition
, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 1988, p. 38.

18
  D. Hedgpeth, ‘GAO blasts weapons budget',
Washington Post
, 1 April 2008, p. A01.

19
  As cited in D. Rasor, ‘The buying and selling of the Pentagon' part 1, <
www.truthout.org
>, accessed 14 April 2011.

20
  L. Strickler, ‘Pricey Pentagon programs and the “kill fee”', CBS News, 15 February 2011, <
www.cbsnews,com/8301-31727_162_20032044-10391695.html
>, accessed 20 February 2011.

21
  A. Davies & P. Layton, ‘We'll have six of them and four of those: Off-the-shelf procurement and its strategic implications', Special Report iIssue 25, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, November 2009, p. 2.

22
  POGO, ‘Federal contractor misconduct database', <
www.contractormisconduct.org
>, accessed 22 July 2011.

23
  T. Allard, ‘$400m lost in botched jet contract',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 13 September 2006.

24
  J. Pearlman, ‘Defence officials kept faults from minister',
Sydney Morning
Herald
, 18 June 2009.

25
  L. Besser, ‘Defence tracking system loses sight of $30m',
Sydney Morning
Herald
, 12 April 2010.

26
  R. Baker, ‘Defence bidders had inside help',
The Age
, 2 September 2010.

27
  G. Perret,
A Country Made by War: From the Revolution to Vietnam ~ The Story
of America's Rise to Power
, Random House, New York, 1989.

28
  M. Small & J.D. Singer,
Resort to Arms: International and Civil Wars, 1816–
1980
, Sage, Beverly Hills, 1982, pp. 167 & 176.

29
  See B.M. Blechman & S.S. Kaplan,
Force without War: US Armed Forces as a
Political Instrument
, Brookings Institution, Washington D.C., 1978.

30
  M. Small,
Was War Necessary: National Security and U.S. Entry into War
, Sage, Beverly Hills, 1980, esp p. 304.

31
  M.J. Glennon,
Constitutional Diplomacy
, Princeton University Press, New
Jersey, 1991; L. Henkin,
Constitutionalism, Democracy, and Foreign Affairs
, Columbia University Press, New York, 1991. See also the review article of these works: T. Draper, ‘Presidential Wars',
New York Review
, 26 September 1991, pp. 64–73.

32
  S.S. Malawer, ‘Reagan's law and foreign policy 1981–1987: The Reagan corollary of international law',
Harvard International Law Journal
, 29, 1988, p. 85. I am most grateful to John Parker, one of my Graduate Programme in International Law students at the Australian National University, for bringing this article to my attention.

33
  Among many sources detailing these categories of international legal criminality, see C. Boggs,
The Crimes of Empire: Rogue Superpower and World
Domination
, Pluto, London, 2010.

34
  A recent example of this is provided by the May 2011 attempt to kill Anwar Awlaki, an American-born militant suspected of involvement in terrorist plots, utilising a drone attack in Yemen: see D.S. Cloud, ‘Extrajudicial executions: US tries to assassinate own citizen in Yemen; US-born cleric was target of Yemen drone attack',
Los Angeles Times
, 7 May 2011.

35
  Among the works consulted in this section are J. Chace & C. Carr,
America
Invulnerable: The Quest for Absolute Security from 1812 to Star Wars
, Summit, New York, 1988; R. Drinnon,
Facing West: The Metaphysics of Indian Hating
and Empire Building
, Schocken Books, New York, 1990; G.P. Hastedt,
American Foreign Policy, Past, Present, Future
, 2nd edn, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1991; R. Hofstadter,
The American Political Tradition and the Men
who Made It
, Random House, New York, 1989; M.H. Hunt,
Ideology and
US Foreign Policy
, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1987; and D.M. Snow,
National Security: Enduring Problems in a Changing Defence Environment
, 2nd edn, St Martin's, New York, 1991.

12  Monumental mistake: Is war the most important thing in Australian history?