Politics as the art of hypocrisy revealed (NZ style).
It is said that politics is the art of hypocrisy and that diplomacy is the art of saying one thing when meaning another. The publication of US diplomatic correspondence between its embassy in...
View ArticleNZ wiki cable number 2.
This one is arguably better than the last. I say “better” simply because it speaks to intelligence and security issues in the main rather than broader foreign policy or NZ leaderships characteristics,...
View ArticleBlog Link: The evolution of post-9/11 New Zealand-US relations revealed.
I have digested as many of the NZ wikileaked cables as possible and have summarised my thoughts on the reality behind the rhetoric with regards to post 9/11 NZ-US relations as well as the possible...
View ArticleAbout SAS “mentoring.”
When John Key authorized the re-deployment of an SAS company to serve as counter-terrorism advisors to the Afghan Police’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) in 2009, he was authorizing a mission that differed...
View ArticleIs a Blue-Green Foreign Policy Possible?
Discussion of potential coalitions stemming from the upcoming general election has largely avoided the question of foreign policy. Although the differences between Labour and National are more around...
View ArticleBlog Link: The unspoken election issue.
Given that foreign policy has rarely been addressed in this year’s election campaign, and then only briefly in the form of PR releases and sound bites rather than genuine debate, I used this month’s...
View ArticleIn an age of increased international interdependence, NZ shrinks diplomatically.
The lunatics have taken over the asylum. Not only has National adopted an incoherent foreign policy in which it attempts to straddle the fence between China and the US by tying its trade fortunes to...
View ArticleBlog Link: A New Containment Policy in the South Pacific
The latest “Word from Afar” column focuses on revelations that New Zealand is part of an effort to curtail Chinese influence in the South Pacific. How it proposes to do so while reducing its work force...
View ArticleBlog Link: On Iran, New Zealand’s Silence Speaks of a Subtle Shift.
The latest Word from Afar column over at Scoop speculates on New Zealand’s seemingly odd silence on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
View ArticleWhich Way, Huawei? (With postscript).
All internet architecture has the potential for use as a Signals Intelligence Intercept platform (SIGINT). Data mining already occurs at the mid-range of IT frameworks, such as when Facebook collects...
View ArticleLeaving Bamiyan.
It looks like the NZDF will pull out of Afghanistan next year, one year earlier than originally planned. According to the government the situation is so good in Bamiyan Province that responsibility for...
View ArticleBlog Link: New Zealand’s Security Council Bid.
New Zealand has received tacit US endorsement of its bid for a non-permanent member seat on the UN Security Council in 2015-16. That may not be an entirely good thing, especially given the mix of...
View ArticlePartners not Allies: New Zealand and the US sign the Washington Declaration.
On June 20 New Zealand Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman and US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta signed the Washington Declaration, which specifies priority areas of cooperation between the militaries...
View ArticleManaging Policy Fade.
A conversation with Lew and Selwyn Manning prompted this rumination. It is not meant as a comprehensive organizational analysis but instead as food for thought, using the case of the UN and Fiji after...
View ArticleBlog Link: Deconstructing New Zealand Foreign Policy.
A recent canvass of members of the diplomatic community resident in Wellington had as a common theme the apparent incoherence of contemporary New Zealand foreign policy. That prompted me to attempt to...
View ArticleWho to Believe?
Journalist John Stephenson is a person of high integrity and a strong memory. He does not report anything until he is exactly certain he has the facts correct. Prime Minister John Key has a difficult...
View ArticleTrust in spies.
A recent TVNZ Colmar Brunton poll showed that 32 percent of those surveyed had little or no trust in New Zealand’s intelligence agencies, 32 percent had much or complete trust in those agencies, and 33...
View ArticleNot surprising.
In 2007 a certain university lecturer, fed up with the managerial push to admit sub-standard and unqualified foreign students in pursuit of revenue, with the resultant pressure placed on lecturers to...
View ArticleWithdrawal from Echelon: a realistic watershed moment in intelligence reform...
In light of the attention brought to matters of intelligence collection and analysis in recent months, it is entirely reasonable for the Greens and Labour to demand a fill inquiry into the...
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