I had privately predicted that after the attacks on the F-35 and the Attack-class submarines, popular criticism would soon turn to armoured vehicles, unless we as a government and the leadership of the ADF started publicly justifying them.

 

Greg Sheridan’s view is a mistaken view that I suspect reflects the opinion of many armchair warriors in Australia.

 

This is because we as a government are not prepared to engage with the Australian people and explain our national security strategy, and so people lack the context to assess these questions.

 

This is a failure and is the reason behind such a divergence of views regarding the likelihood of war, and the nature of that war.