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Peter Jennings is director of Strategic Analysis Australia and was executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012 to 2022. He is a former deputy secretary for strategy in the Defence Department (2009-12).

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INQUIRERInquirer

## Strict EMBARGO - NO WEB USE until 8:01pm on 28/02/2024 ## Australian Security Intelligence Organisation ASIO Director General Mike Burgess poses for a portrait ahead of his annual threat assessment speech at ASIO headquarters in Canberra, Wednesday, February 28, 2024. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

Terrorists and spies don’t do business as usual

ASIO chief Mike Burgess says violent extremism remains a pervasive threat.

Peter Jennings

InquirerInquirer

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, NewsWire Photos. JANUARY 23, 2024: Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Home Affairs Minister Clare OÃ¢â¬â¢Neil, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Abigail Bradshaw Head of the Australian Signals Directorate's, Australian Cyber Security Centre hold a press conference in response to Medibank Private cyber attack at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Richard Marles must stop digging, start leading

The Defence Minister has one last chance to turn the ship of Defence around and save his career.

Peter Jennings

INQUIRERInquirer

Republican presidential hopeful and former US President Donald Trump gestures during an Election Night Party in Nashua, New Hampshire, on January 23, 2024. Donald Trump won the key New Hampshire primary Tuesday, moving him ever closer to locking in the Republican presidential nomination and securing an extraordinary White House rematch with Joe Biden. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Will Trump sink AUKUS if he wins?

We need to start wooing Donald Trump now in case he gets back in the White House.

Peter Jennings

INQUIRERDefence

***DAILY TELEGRAPH EXCLUSIVE MUST CHECK BEFORE USE*** , An Australian Army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter from 6th Aviation Regiment approaches a Sydney ferry as part of a Special Operations Command maritime counter-terrorism training activity in Sydney Harbour on Wednesday, 24 June 2020. *** Local Caption *** Australian Army special forces soldiers from 2nd Commando Regiment conducted Exercise Mars Toothfish in Sydney, Wollongong and associated New South Wales coastal waters from late-June to early July 2020. Exercise Mars Toothfish is essential Australian Army training that ensures the Australian Defence Force is ready to defend Australia and its national interests. The training activity was conducted using strict COVID-19 protocols. The Mars series of counter-terrorism training activities are designed to build and maintain the skills of 2nd Commando Regiment's Tactical Assault Group - East (TAG-East), a short-notice counter-terrorist force able to respond to a terrorist incident of national importance or in support of state and territory-based police. 2nd Commando Regiment is part of Special Forces Group, a brigade-level formation within the Australian Army's Special Operations Command. Special Operations Command's mission is to prepare and employ special operations forces to defend Australia and its national interests. Special Operations Command is a small, high-tempo and diverse multi-disciplinary team drawn from Navy, Army, Air Force, Australian Public Service and contractors who continue the 78 years of Australian special operations experience and sacrifice since World War II.

Labor’s evasive action on grounded choppers won’t fly

There is something deeply suspect about the government’s decision to disassemble and bury $1bn worth of MRH-90 Taipan utility helicopters. The public deserves an explanation.

Peter Jennings

INQUIRERInquirer

TOPSHOT - People run with merchandise as crowds leave shops with looted goods amid a state of unrest in Port Moresby on January 10, 2024. A festering pay dispute involving Papua New Guinea's security forces on January 10 sparked angry protests in the capital, where a crowd torched a police car outside the prime minister's office. By Wednesday afternoon pockets of unrest had spread through the capital Port Moresby, with video clips on social media showing crowds looting shops and stretched police scrambling to restore order. (Photo by AFP)

Who will PNG call for help when Port Moresby is burning?

Things could get much worse, very quickly, in Port Moresby. Australia would scramble to come to our neighbour’s aid should it trigger the new treaty.

Peter Jennings

CommentaryCommentary

An Australian Army MRH90 Taipan helicopter from 6th Aviation Regiment conducts reconnaissance at Shepparton, Victoria, as part of Operation Flood Assist 2022. *** Local Caption *** Australian Army personnel from 6th Aviation Regiment provided assistance to flood-affected communities in Victoria as part of Operation Flood Assist 2022. Defence established Operation Flood Assist 2022 on 17 October 2022 as part of the whole-of-government response to flooding in Victoria and New South Wales. Defence personnel, equipment, high-clearance vehicles and helicopters are supporting emergency authorities in assisting affected communities. Broadly, support includes flood preparation activities such sand bagging, welfare checks, evacuation support, transport, logistics resupply, access assistance and initial recovery support. The Australian Defence Force remains postured to provide additional support to State Emergency Services should a request be received via National Emergency Management Australia.

Decision to bury Taipans dents our support of Ukraine

It is past time Albanese and Marles offered some clear explanations about the retired Taipan helicopters.

Peter Jennings

InquirerInquirer

TOPSHOT - This handout picture released by the Israeli army on January 1, 2024 shows Israeli soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Israeli Army / AFP) / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT

What’s next in Middle East? Consider these six factors

While making strategic sense of the latest is difficult given the pace and complexity of events, these six scenarios may play out for Israel, Gaza and the Middle East in coming months.

Peter Jennings

Radical IslamInquirer

UPSIZED VERSION Mourners carry the coffins of a Hezbollah fighter and of one of his relatives who were killed in Israeli bombardment the previous night, during a funeral procession in Bint Jbeil, in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, on December 27, 2023, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. An Israeli air strike on a south Lebanon border town killed a Hezbollah fighter, the group said on December 27, with state media reporting two of his relatives were also killed. (Photo by AFP)

Sleepwalking towards a fresh jihadist showdown

‘Pro-Palestinian’ protests should have rung alarms in democracies’ intelligence and security organisations that radicalised individuals would travel to the Middle East.

Peter Jennings

CommentaryCommentary

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, NewsWire Photos. NOVEMBER 15, 2023: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese departs Canberra to attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in San Francisco, USA from 15 - 17 November 2023.. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Labor adrift in a sea of foreign policy impotence

The Albanese government ends 2023 adrift on national security and foreign policy, like the HMAS Toowoomba in the Sea of Japan a few weeks ago, propellers snarled and hostile forces looming.

Peter Jennings

CommentaryCommentary

Johannes Leak Commentary page cartoon for 15-12-2023Version: Commentary Cartoon (1024x768 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.

Concoction of platitudes: PMs’ Gaza statement simply moral posturing

There was a time when governments in Australia, Canada and NZ prided themselves that their global pronouncements carried weight. No more.

Peter Jennings

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/peter-jennings/page/6