Here are support materials for conversations and social media posts about cancelling the AUKUS submarine deal, and becoming independent of American military madness.
It is a work in progress: suggestions welcome!
Andrew Gaines FRSA
Inspiring Transition
andrew.gaines@InspiringTransition.net
AUKUS conversation slidedeck
These images give people a larger perspective about AUKUS, China and Australia.
(They will be reworked to be easily printable on card stock – handy for informal personal conversations).
AUKUS background
The Australian government, through apparently the sole decision of the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has decided to spend about $360 billion on nuclear powered submarines. It is part of a mutual security pact between Australia, the United States, and England.
Supporters of the deal assert that China is a threat to Australia, and having nuclear powered submarines will make Australia more secure.
Critics, of whom former Prime Minister Paul Keating is the most outspoken, note that China is an important trading partner with Australia, and assert that there is no reason to believe that China intends to attack Australia. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd agrees.
In their view, the real purpose of the AUKUS submarine deal is to support the United States in its threatening posture towards China.
There is more to the story.
America is the major funder – and policymaker – for NATO. It was set up for mutual protection against the expansion of the Soviet Union under Stalin at the end of World War II. This was a wise move.
Stalin died, and Russia changed. In 1988 the Soviet Union dissolved, and Russia was weak. Some saw this as an opportunity for America to vastly reduce its military expenditure: a ‘peace dividend’. This did not happen.
Rather, military expenditures went up, and NATO began to expand towards Russia. American leadership committed itself to having armed forces so powerful that America could fight and win simultaneous wars both in Europe and Asia (perhaps not hard, China was not strong).
But why? America had no superpower enemies at the turn of the century. Obviously, there were dreams of being supremely powerful. And some note that this was extraordinarily profitable for the American arms industry.
Of course, expanding NATO towards Russia was threatening to Russia. Seasoned American diplomats warned against it, and everybody knew it. The red line, as the Russians made clear, was the prospect of integrating Ukraine into NATO. Where this to happen, Russia would have a heavily armed hostile neighbor along its 1,200 km long border with Ukraine.
Was this perhaps be a bit paranoid? Apparently in 2014 America was instrumental in deposing a Ukrainian premier who was very friendly towards Moscow. America, of course, had fought the Vietnam War. It invaded Iraq under false pretexts, and invaded Afghanistan in order to capture one man. America was instrumental in overthrowing and killing Qaddafi. The Russians had reason to be concerned.
I, personally, share this concern. I think for several decades the core American leadership has been demented. They are interested in power and profit, and they are knowingly driving us to the brink of nuclear war. These are not the actions of compassionate mature individuals, but of deranged minds. Australia is foolish and misguided to military align with them in a way that provokes China.
If we expand our vision even more, we see that we live in an ecologically declining civilization. Climate mayhem is the most prominent example. However, we are also hitting resource constraints. We are entering a time of resource contraction and economic contraction, even as governments, business and the media champion more growth, more growth!
For our own survival, those of us who care would do well to devote our efforts to mobilising public will to:
- Dismantle nuclear weapons.
- Negotiate vastly reduce military expenditures.
- Devote funds now used for the military to creating the social and ecological conditions of well-being both domestically and abroad.
How might we mobilise public will – especially in such a scary situation? Through personal conversations.
A resource for conducting conversations about the AUKUS submarine deal and Australia’s military posture is above.
Resources for also talking about ecological decline and evolving a compassionate society are on the citizen-educators section of this website.
Andrew Gaines
Inspiring Transition
andrew.gaines@InspiringTransition.net
www.InspiringTransition.net
Greta Thunberg will have reason to hope when she sees that mainstream society is committed to turning things around.
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