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Canberra, Australia

During the post-Cold War years, Australia was something of a backwater in global politics. Rich in minerals and geographically remote, it was widely known as the “Lucky Country,�� and its citizens were often even less engaged with world affairs than their American cousins. But as I learned this week, Australians today see themselves on the front lines of a new and dangerous era in international affairs.

Invited Down Under by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council to give a series of talks on my recent book on US-Israel relations, I found myself less busy  or even discussing Middle East politics than I expected, and more engaged in sobering conversations with senior Australian policy makers, scholars and journalists about the gathering global storm.