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John Blaxland

Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University
John Blaxland is Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies, and was recently appointed Official Historian of the Australian Signals Directorate and commissioned to write a two-volume history of ASD. He is a former Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, and the first Australian recipient of a US Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative grant examining great power contestation in Southeast Asia. John holds a PhD in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, an MA in History from ANU and a BA (Hons 1) from UNSW. He is a graduate of the Royal Thai Army Command & Staff College (dux, foreign students) and the Royal Military College, Duntroon (Blamey Scholar). He has extensive experience in the intelligence community including as the principal intelligence staff officer (S2) for the Australian infantry brigade deployed to East Timor in September 1999, as an intelligence exchange officer in Washington DC, and as Director Joint Intelligence Operations (J2), at Headquarters Joint Operations Command. In addition he was Australia’s Defence Attaché to Thailand and Myanmar. At ANU, he teaches undergraduate students a course entitled “Honeypots and Overcoats: Australian Intelligence in the World”. His publications include: The Secret Cold War: The Official History of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation 1975-1989 (2016); East Timor Intervention (2015); The Protest Years (2015): The Australian Army From Whitlam to Howard (2014); Strategic Cousins (2006); Revisiting Counterinsurgency (2006); Information era Manoeuvre (2003); Signals: Swift and Sure (1998); and Organising an Army: The Australian Experience 1957-1965 (1989).

Calling in the army for the vaccine rollout and every other emergency shows how ill-prepared we are

Jun 07, 2021 23:44 pm UTC| Health

News the armys Lieutenant General John JJ Frewen has been picked to lead a new COVID-19 vaccination task force has prompted fresh discussion of the defence forces role in Australia. Frewen, already the commander of the...

Global Geopolitics Series

China does not want war, at least not yet. It's playing the long game

May 09, 2021 09:03 am UTC| Politics

Talk of war has become louder in recent days, but the drumbeat has been heard for some time now as Chinas military capabilities have grown. China does not want war, at least not yet. Its playing the long game and its...

Economy

Oil Prices Fall on U.S.-Iran Hormuz Deal Hopes

Oil prices fell on Friday, ending a two-day rally as traders weighed reports that the United States and Iran were discussing a phased agreement that could eventually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease disruptions to...

Canadian Dollar Faces Pressure as Fed-BoC Policy Gap Widens

The Canadian dollar could remain under pressure through the end of 2026 as diverging monetary policy between the Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada weighs on the currency, according to CIBC Capital Markets. CIBC expects...

Japanese Yen Rebounds as Trump Flags Currency Weakness

The Japanese yen ended a five-day losing streak on Friday, rebounding from the closely watched 160-per-dollar level after Tokyo disclosed that U.S. President Donald Trump had raised concerns about the currencys weakness...

US Comfortable With Canada Trade Standoff as Import Bans Loom

President Donald Trumps administration is prepared to maintain its escalating trade dispute with Canada as new import restrictions approach and Washington threatens additional tariffs on key Canadian industries. U.S. Trade...

Dollar Falls as Oil Eases, Yen Jumps on Intervention Signals

The U.S. dollar weakened on Friday as oil prices retreated, although the currency remained headed for a second consecutive weekly gain as expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike increased. The Japanese yen,...

Politics

Colombia Extradites FARC Dissident Leader ‘Spider’ to US

Colombia has extradited Geovany Andres Rojas, a senior commander of a dissident faction linked to the former FARC rebel movement, to the United States, where he is wanted on drug-trafficking charges. Rojas, widely known by...

Evan Gershkovich Says FSB Set Trap for 2023 Russia Arrest

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich says Russias Federal Security Service orchestrated an elaborate sting operation that led to his 2023 arrest on espionage charges, according to his first detailed published...

Saudi Arabia Seeks Military Support as Houthi Attacks Escalate

Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani military chiefs were expected to discuss support for Saudi Arabia as escalating Houthi attacks intensify security concerns across the Middle East, while new restrictions on Iranian flights add...

Putin Says Ukraine Peace Proposals Remain on Table

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that proposals aimed at ending the 4-1/2-year war in Ukraine remain under consideration, although Moscow must determine which options best serve Russias interests. Speaking to...

Iran Rejects Nuclear Concessions in Hormuz Deal

Iran will not compromise on its nuclear rights even if the United States accepts Tehrans proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to a senior Iranian official, underscoring major obstacles to ending the...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

AMD Hits $1 Trillion as BofA Raises Price Target to $720

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) has joined the $1 trillion market capitalization club, and BofA Securities believes the semiconductor giant has room to climb further as artificial intelligence drives stronger demand...

US Appeals Court Upholds Anthropic AI Supply Chain Ban

A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the Department of Wars decision to exclude Anthropic from its supply chain, handing the Trump administration a significant victory in a closely watched dispute over military use of...

Solidigm Eyes $150 Billion IPO as SK Hynix Expands AI Storage Push

SK Hynix subsidiary Solidigm is considering a U.S. initial public offering as early as next year that could value the semiconductor storage company at as much as $150 billion, according to a Reuters report on Friday. The...

Meta Found Liable in New Mexico Facebook Data Privacy Case

A New Mexico jury has found Meta Platforms liable for misleading consumers about Facebook user privacy and data-sharing practices in a case tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The verdict followed a two-week trial in...

DaVoice Sues Perplexity AI Over Trade Secrets

AI technology startup DaVoice has filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI in California federal court, accusing the artificial intelligence company of misappropriating trade secrets connected to wake word technology used in...