Twenty-three years ago, when I was volunteering on a year of youth ministry travelling across South Australia, the world changed. The United States was attacked by al-Qaeda on September 11, triggering a multi-continent, multi-nation war against a range of conventional and unconventional foes. Many people, innocent and guilty, lost their lives.
The successes of the first, relatively uncontroversial, military campaigns against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan led to much more controversial campaigns against Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Australia was there every step of the way, supporting our mates and ensuring our own security.
The problem was how to bring democracy to people who had been governed by tyrants. It took the West centuries to make democracy work. And the West wanted to get democracy working in the Middle East in a matter of months. All while old enemies of democracy – nations and groups with their own agendas and resources – were working away in the background to undermine it.
The Western war machine was completely reworked for the long wars of counterinsurgency. Mistakes were made and much was learned. But every step of the way, revolutionaries and subversives – backed by foreign powers – sabotaged the good things that were happening and exploited the bad things that happened.
Some on our side did terrible things. There can be no justification for cruelty or barbarism. It is grossly immoral and unjust, and strategically counterproductive.
Defending Democracy
The enemies of freedom and democracy do everything they can to incite overreaction. They want horrible things to happen as it gives them more ammunition to target the institutions and systems that make up our free and democratic way of life.
Our freedom requires defending, by force and the threat of force. The world is not a peaceful place – we just have brief, relatively peaceful periods in our history. There are always people out to get what they want however they can.
Russia invaded Ukraine.
China is constantly engaged in dangerous manoeuvres in international waters that it claims as its own.
Israel suffered a savage attack from Iranian-backed terrorists out to destroy as many lives as they could, all with the additional plan of inciting Israel to a violent vengeance it could then exploit throughout the comfortable classes of the West.
And this brings me to the protests in Melbourne.
Despite knowing Melbourne is the protest capital of Australia, the base of every radical and subversive and extreme group, I was still shocked by how it descended into such scenes of chaos and violence. When I attended the 2022 expo in Brisbane, the protests were peaceful.
The world is escalating in violence. Nations are preparing to go from strategic competition to outright conflict. If war breaks out, it will not be an accident.
Russia, China, and Iran are clear about what they want from the world. Russia has already shown that if it cannot get what it wants by covert means, it will use troops. China has said the same. In fact, it says it again and again in every official communique.
Deterrence
The best way to stop this escalating into full-blown conflict is through deterrence.
Deterrence is about having the firepower and the people to make any adversary think twice before striking.
Deterrence requires weaponry and this makes events like Melbourne’s Land Forces Expo vital for the security of our freedom and our democracy.
It also means such events are prime targets for our enemies. If they can disrupt them, they can lessen our deterrence and, they think, make it easier to force us to do their will.
There is no doubt in my mind that behind the scenes of these protests are people who want to bring down our society.
Most of the protestors, however, would be unaware of this. They would not know they are being used.
And this is why the work of The Movement is so vital. For almost a century we have been forming and informing Australians so they can lead change for the Common Good. Our work has been quiet, and targeted, focused on ensuring a clear understanding of first principles and what this looks like in practice.
Through our works like News Weekly and the Thomas More Centre, YPAT and the Democratic Clubs, we keep people in the loop of what they need to know and what they can do to make a difference. Over the decades we have formed and informed countless leaders from every level, from the local community to the national stage.
As Australia enters more dangerous waters, our work is needed more than ever.
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