In this episode of Policy, Guns & Money, Brendan Nicholson speaks to Samantha Crompvoets, founder and director at Rapid Context who carried out the review of special forces which uncovered claims that war crimes were committed by Australian special forces in Afghanistan. They discuss the Brereton Report, how a dangerous ‘warrior culture’ developed unchecked, and what needs to be done to stop it happening again.

Anastasia Kapetas speaks with Ben Bohane, Communications Director at ANU’s Australia Pacific Security College and Pacific specialist, about climate initiatives and innovation in the Pacific, and disaster responses and resilience. They also discuss the regional response to Joe Biden’s election and the prospects for the US to return to a global leadership role on tackling climate change.

Genevieve Feely speaks to Rachel Grimes, NATO ACT Liaison Officer to the UN, ICRC and NGOs, about her experiences working in the UN, NATO and UK Defence. They discuss the importance of terminology, the progress made so far in the increasing female representation in peacekeeping operations and the prospects for advancing the women, peace and security agenda. The views expressed in this interview are Rachel’s personal views.

Mentioned in this episode:

https://afghanistaninquiry.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/IGADF-Afghanistan-Inquiry-Public-Release-Version.pdf

Guests:

Brendan Nicholson: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/brendan-nicholson

Samantha Crompvoets: https://www.rapidcontext.com.au/samantha-crompvoets

Anastasia Kapetas: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/anastasia-kapetas

Ben Bohane: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/people/professional/ben-bohane

Genevieve Feely: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/genevieve-feely

Rachel Grimes MBE: https://www.lse.ac.uk/women-peace-security/people/Rachel-Grimes

Music: "Drop" by 'Anno Domini Beats' - via the YouTube Audio Library

Image: piqsels.com