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David KilcullenContributing Editor for Military Affairs

David Kilcullen served in the Australian Army from 1985 to 2007. He was a senior counter-insurgency adviser to General David Petraeus in Iraq in 2007-08, followed by special adviser for counter-insurgency to secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. He is the author of six books, including most recently The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West.

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INQUIRERInquirer

TOPSHOT - This picture taken from a position on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, shows the sun setting behind destroyed buildings in the Palestinian territory, on July 1, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

The Middle East conflict, unfortunately, is far from over

The full effects of the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities won’t be known for a long time – if ever – but some things are starting to become clear.

David Kilcullen

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EMBARGOED FOR INQUIRER 20 JUNE 2025; A photo comp of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Benjamin Netanyahu with war technology behind them. Artwork by Emilia Tortorella. Sources: supplied and iStock. Ratio 4:3.

Israel-Iran war reveals rising age of unconventional conflict

Three recent military operations that illustrate the effectiveness of an emerging trend in warfare, enabling conventional forces to operate with far greater chance of success.

David Kilcullen

INQUIRERInquirer

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with the US Secretary of State at his office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. Rubio said Palestinian militant group Hamas

Bibi’s balancing act: tactical success v political danger

Whether he accepts the US ceasefire proposal or not, Benjamin Netanyahu will struggle to maintain his current path for much longer.

David Kilcullen

INQUIRERInquirer

US President Donald Trump speaks after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on March 6, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

Trump’s gift to the world: a wake-up call to geopolitical reality

Donald Trump’s brash, mercurial demeanour – unpleasant though it may be – is a blessing in disguise. His abrasiveness scrubs away the veneer of fine words that often obscures the nature of America’s relationship with allies.

David Kilcullen

INQUIRERInquirer

TOPSHOT - This aerial photo shows displaced Gazans walking toward Gaza City on January 27, 2025, after crossing the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip. An unending stream of people marched up the coast of Gaza on January 27, carrying their belongings in plastic bags and repurposed flour sacks through the central city of Nuseirat after Israel reopened access to the territory's north. (Photo by AFP)

From ruins to ‘Riviera’: what comes after the apocalypse

Transforming Gaza into ‘the Riviera of the Middle East’ would present overwhelming challenges – not least from Hamas. But it’s worth looking at the feasibility and implications of US President Donald Trump’s proposal.

David Kilcullen

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The battlefield reality behind the Gaza ceasefire

Even if this week’s ceasefire does indeed stick, what comes next will be the hardest thing.

David Kilcullen

INQUIRERInquirer

Axis of evil art for Inquirer. Collage: Geordie Gray

We need to brace for impact in a disrupted world

This year is starting as 2024 ended: in a tangle of overlapping conflicts. Four strategic trends are emerging – but there’s an important silver lining for Australians.

David Kilcullen

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HAMA, SYRIA - DECEMBER 07: Anti-regime armed groups seize central Hama, Syria on December 07, 2024. Hama residents demonstrates in support of the armed groups against the regime. Posters of the regime are removed from the streets. Tanks abandoned by the regime are also seen on the roads leading to Hama. (Photo by Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Syria’s chain reaction: the 11-day blitz that unravelled Assad

The speed of the regime’s collapse was startling, but it should not have been. Beyond the general dynamics of government collapse, something else was happening.

David Kilcullen

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Anti-government fighters reach the highway near the the northern Syrian town of Azaz on December 1, 2024. The United States and its allies France, Germany and Britain called Sunday for

Surprise attack shifts Mid-East sands again

Fresh fighting in Syria may revive terror threats in the West, including Australia.

David Kilcullen

INQUIRERInquirer

Ambulances are surrounded by people at the entrance of the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, after Hezbollah members' pagers simultaneously exploded in Lebanon. Picture: Anwar Amro/AFP

Could Israel’s calculus for war be shifting to escalation?

A broader regional conflict would recast Israel as a victim surrounded by multiple enemies, reversing the current dynamic and possible regaining moral legitimacy.

David Kilcullen

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/david-kilcullen