It perhaps not realized that Australia has a very long history of strategic interest and engagement in the Middle East. It is a record of sustained involvement and considerable commitment. Australia comes as a friend and peacemaker, and with no local ambitions. Australia has much to offer the Gulf states in the field of military cooperation. Coupled with Australia's growing trade with the region, it seems likely that Australia's strategic interest and engagement with the region will expand over the following years.

What is the history behind Australia's relations with the Muslim world, and the Middle East in particular, which led Australia to be described as a frontline of the so-called 'War on Terror'? Australia's encounters with the Middle East have historically been defined through the British Empire, the Commonwealth and, more recently, through its close strategic ties with the US. This book traces the nature of the Australia-Middle East relationship, from an insular 'White Australia' ideology through to the ongoing global impact of September 11 and the decision to send troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. Comprehensive analysis of these complex ties provides an essential basis for understanding past encounters, evaluating present policies and developing a framework for future interactions. Australia and the Middle East draws together the various dimensions and themes of this relationship – from trade and migration, to increasing strategic interest and military involvement in the region.

Australia invoked the ANZUS Alliance following the Al Qaeda attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001. But unlike the calls to arms at the onset of the world wars, Australia decided to make only carefully calibrated force contributions in support of the US-led coalition campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why is this so? Niche Wars examines Australia’s experience on military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 to 2014. These operations saw over 40 Australian soldiers killed and hundreds wounded. But the toll since has been greater. For Afghanistan and Iraq the costs are hard to measure. Why were these forces deployed? What role did Australia play in shaping the strategy and determining the outcome? How effective were they? Why is so little known about Australia’s involvement in these campaigns? What lessons can be learned from this experience? Niche Wars commences with a scene-setting overview of Australia’s military involvement in the Middle East over more than a century. It then draws on unique insights from many angles, across a spectrum of men and women, ranging from key Australian decision makers, practitioners and observers. The book includes a wide range of perspectives in chapters written by federal government ministers, departmental secretaries, service commanders, task force commanders, sailors, soldiers, airmen and women, international aid workers, diplomats, police, journalists, coalition observers and academics. Niche Wars makes for compelling reading but also stands as a reference work on how and why Australia became entangled in these conflicts that had devastating consequences. If lessons can be learned from history about how Australia uses its military forces, this book is where to find them.

2011 Updated Reprint. Updated Annually. Australia Army Handbook

In August 1995, NATO intervened militarily for the first time in Bosnia. At the time, few could have envisaged that a decade later NATO would be deploying over 10,000 troops to Afghanistan, training Iraqi military forces in Baghdad and increasing its political and military cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). As a region, the Greater Middle East is viewed by the West as an area of concern in terms of issues such as WMD proliferation; terrorism; interstate conflict; failed states; immigration; and civil war. Therefore, European and North American leaders and populations have a strong strategic self-interest in promoting security in the Greater Middle East. NATO’s largest and most important mission in the Greater Middle East is in Afghanistan—the first mission of its kind outside Europe. NATO’s involvement there began when it took over command of the UN-mandated International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF). In Iraq, NATO has now taken on its first formal role—a military training mission outside Baghdad, while the Alliance has also taken on missions providing relief and assistance in earthquake-effected Pakistan and in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan. NATO has launched the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), to expand dialogue and provide a forum for practical cooperation between NATO and the countries of the Gulf region. NATO began by offering ICI membership to the countries of the GCC. The offer was initially accepted by Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, while the UAE followed in June 2005. The story of NATO’s involvement in the Greater Middle East over the past decade is one of increasing activity, which points to a potentially significant future role in the region. It would be naïve, however, to conclude that NATO’s growing involvement in the region is a linear or irreversible trend. Many of the missions undertaken so far are quite limited in scope and have all led to serious controversy among NATO members. There is still no consensus within the Alliance on the precise role it should play in the Greater Middle East and on major challenges that must be met if NATO’s role is to continue to grow.

The dispatch of an Ottoman Army by Australian-led Imperial air power in the Wadi Fara on 21 September 1918 occurred just five years after the advent of military aviation in Australia. In 1914, the fledgling Australian air service operated the flimsy Bristol Boxkite; four years later it was flying the far more advanced Bristol F2B Fighter. This leap forward represented a profound progress in technology that has typified the technical development of aviation, particularly in Australia ever since. Ironically, on 21 September 2014, 96 years after the events of the Wadi Fara, Australian squadrons were again deployed to the same part of the world where they would remain for more than three years on operations against extremist terrorism. Armageddon and OKRA contrasts these events, a century apart, in the context of the development of Australian air power. The book tracks the history where Australia has maintained a balanced air service compelling high technical, logistics and engineering standards, and effective training and command and control systems, for more than 100 years. These processes were as applicable a century ago as they are today. By examining these operational events, the author establishes the connection that access to the technology associated with air power is intrinsically linked to Australia’s enduring foreign and defence policy – more so, that military power is a means to an end, and never an end unto itself.