As Australian hornets strike Islamic State targets over Iraq and our special forces remain on standby to once again enter conflict in the Middle East, questions arise about Australia’s defence and foreign policy priorities. Should we be focusing our intelligence and defence resources on global alliances or our own region? How binding is the ANZUS treaty and Australia’s obligations to United States foreign policy objectives? And what has changed within our borders with the rise of homegrown fundamentalists connected to a stateless, criminal terror network with no regard for human life?

Sally Warhaft is joined by James Brown, former Australian Army officer, now Military Fellow at the Lowy Institute, and Greg Barton (director, international, of the Global Terrorism Research Centre and co-editor of the journal Islam and Christian Muslim Relations). These distinguished insiders will lend their experience and insight in a special Fifth Estate on Australia’s defence policy in the age of ISIS.

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