In this Global Outlook episode, we ask why the National Preparedness discussion is missing the elephant in the room, while covering Trump's purchase of diesel from Russia, the US sanctioning the ICC, and its willingness to livestream an execution.
We look at Trump's purchase of diesel from Russia which does nothing to help US prices but instead helps to fund a war that the USA claims to oppose. Given the Starlink throttling and other recent moves, it should be clear to all that the Trump administration will never help Ukraine. The discussion then turns to the US imposing sanctions on the ICC, which goes against the rules based order that our politicians frequently claim to uphold. Many countries issued statements of support for the ICC yet Australia remained silent.
Another notable issue has been the US cancelling their television coverage of Nidal Hassan's military execution for his heinous crime. The public aspect of this execution has received bipartisan condemnation within the USA and by many other countries. Australia's reaction has been to attempt to attempt to block coverage of the livestream within Australia, yet no official condemnation has been heard, despite Australia doing so when other countries, such as Iran, conduct live executions.
Which brings us back to National Preparedness and how the discussions have been about the situation with China yet not a mention of the USA's transition away from the rules based global order. With the USA now regularly acting against Australia's geopolitical interests, the question must be raised why the government is giving the USA more leverage that can be used against us? This change didn't start with Trump and won't end with Trump, but Australia needs to consider all aspects of preparedness, not just those raised by China.
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