About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of US political violence, military changes, and Australia's defense spending amidst shifting international relations.
We start with the US and another attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. While there might not be a causal link, his obvious pleasure in inflicting pain and suffering on others - identical to that of the appropriately named Secretary of War Pete Hegseth - has helped increase a propensity for violence. The US seems to be moving further away from what we regard as Australian values. Then we have the abrupt sacking of Navy Secretary John Phelan - unqualified for the job in the first place - which is part of a continuing purge of the US military. In Australia we have the news that the government is buying an additional 270 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles and also we are spending $2.3 billion on Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) and a second regiment of HIMAR launchers. PrSM is an excellent weapon - but we are doubling down on an overloaded and unreliable US supply chain at precisely the wrong time. A better choice would have been PrSM plus the Strikemaster system using Bushmasters with Naval Strike Missiles on them. Also some words about a report by the UK House of Lords clearly and factually pointing out that the "Special Relationship" with the US is over…
Topics covered
- US politics
- Australian defense
- military procurement
- international relations
- violence in politics
- government accountability
Keywords
- Donald Trump
- Pete Hegseth
- John Phelan
- Bushmaster
- Precision Strike Missiles
- US military
- Australian government
- UK House of Lords
- Special Relationship
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: US military, Australian government, UK House of Lords
Products: Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), HIMAR launchers
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