U.S. forces in South Korea are on high alert after North Korea claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb last week. But China may be better positioned to curb North Korea’s menacing behavior.
Joe Hockey has been announced as Australia’s next ambassador to the United States.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Will Joe Hockey, a 19-year veteran of the Australian Parliament, be able to navigate an increasingly dysfunctional Washington as ambassador to the United States?
Barack Obama speaks about counterterrorism and the US fight against Islamic State from the Oval Office.
Saul Loeb/Reuters
Compared to 9/11, the recent attacks by ISIS were coordinated, but not costly.
As President Barack Obama extends America’s military presence in Afghanistan, Australia is determining what’s next for its military role.
Dan Peled/AAP
After 14 years of continued military presence and a decision by President Obama to keep US forces in Afghanistan, what is the next step for Australia’s role in the Afghanistan war?
Touchdown: Shaker Aamer’s ride home after 14 years.
Reuters/Peter Nicholls
The UK’s last inmate at Guantanamo Bay has finally been brought home – but the matter of Britain’s role in the War on Terror is by no means resolved.
Whatever the terms agreed by the 12 trade ministers who signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the text is unlikely to include the word ‘democracy’.
Reuters/USTR Office
China’s not happy. Normally that sort of phrase is pretty meaningless. Clearly not everyone in China has the same view on anything – with the possible exception of its territorial claims in the South China…
“It’s not that simple, Barack.”
Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
The meeting between the leaders of China and the United States has rapidly become the gold standard for set-piece diplomatic extravaganzas. Xi Jinping and Barack Obama are, after all, the two most powerful…
A planned US drone strike program in Syria will waste life, political capital and resources.
During his upcoming visit to Washington, Muhammadu Buhari should soak up as much as he can about how to manage difficult economic conditions.
EPA/Deji Yake
Muhammadu Buhari could learn some useful lessons from Barack Obama when they meet in Washington, particularly on how to get an economy back on its feet.
US President Barack Obama’s much-anticipated visit is aimed at forging stronger ties with Kenya and Ethiopia.
Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
Kenya and Ethiopia need to use the media spotlight of US President Barack Obama’s visit to showcase their various opportunities. The US and the African Union will also be looking to benefit from the visit.
At its core, Islamic State’s runaway success is not down to its military capability. Rather, it is due to Iraq’s political circumstances.
Reuters
There are three key reasons why success for the West hasn’t followed. Together, these reasons point towards an urgent need to shift strategy to avoid a stalemate.
Iraqi troops training with the US Army June 2015.
US Army/Reuters
On the face of it, Iraq and the US Federal Reserve share little. One is a country plagued by division, war and mayhem since the US invasion of 2003. It is a brutal world where there are no friends, few…
An Afghan girl looks out of a damaged window of a shrine.
REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
As the US slows down its troop withdrawal and China increases its involvement in Afghanistan, a warning that if the country is to see peace again, foreign meddling needs to stop.
US President Barack Obama speaks at the US-Africa leaders summit. The number of US programs and initiatives on the continent has grown exponentially.
EPA
Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Kenya is a clear sign American military and economic involvement in Africa will continue to rise amid growing Chinese influence.
Australia’s reaction to revelations that its citizens were fighting for IS follows a pattern of intellectual and state fear-mongering.
AAP/Lukas Coch
If governments are to maintain public support for their military ventures, war narratives must be kept simple and consistent. The underlying message must not change: the West is always the innocent victim of terrorism, never its perpetrator.