Today’s first pick is a piece on The Bridge by Australian Army officer Jason Logue on how to effectively counter ISIS’ strategic communications and stem recruitment of Australian fighters. He writes,

Playing the counter-propaganda game in this era of instantaneous global reach is for the most part pointless unless it is nested within a wider and comprehensive anti-propaganda concept designed to partially inoculate our own populations and persuade those who are yet to enter [terrorist organisations].

Logue recommends that counter-narratives employ language that deliberately avoids giving further legitimacy to the Islamic ‘State’. Keep reading here.

And ICYMI here’s President Obama’s statement on ISIL: read the text or watch the video (14mins). Emphasising Logue’s approach above, the President stated: ‘Now let’s make two things clear: ‘ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state.’

Turning closer to our region, are there ties between the Philippines’ militant groups and ISIS? In a new RSIS commentary, Joseph Franco argues the links are tenuous—they’re normative rather than operational given the ideological dissonance between Mindanao rebels and ISIS.

Here’s a longer piece by Carnegie Endowment’s James L. Schoff on what Myanmar means for the US–Japan alliance. Schoff explores the opportunities in Myanmar’s reform from both American and Japanese perspectives and discusses the potential for policy coordination in trade, intergovernmental assistance, and military engagement. In a rush? Watch the three-minute video of Schoff outlining the strategic opportunities arising from Myanmar’s reform.

Are China and Taiwan about to become BFFs? Justine Doody over at East Asia Forum examines recent developments towards rapprochement but notes that while political and business circles have welcomed closer trade and economic ties, not all of Taiwan’s citizens want to embrace the mainland with open arms.

CNAS’ Patrick Cronin has a new working paper on how to respond to maritime coercion. He argues that cost-imposing strategies are a critical component alongside engagement and binding, and recommends a range of diplomatic, informational, military and economic measures that could raise the cost of assertive actions in the Indo-Pacific.

Over at Arms Control Wonk, Michael Krepon looks at how to establish norms in outer space, pointing in particular to a need for stronger norms in relation to debris, harmful interference and traffic management. Krepon discusses which of three options—an ambitious treaty, a narrow treaty, or an international code of conduct—the US, China, Russia and India each prefer. Russia and China favour the first option but, in his view, ‘The Russian and Chinese draft treaty is not a serious diplomatic initiative; it’s a dodge.’ Keep reading here.

Lastly, and on a lighter note, what happens when think tanks receive foreign money? Robin Davies on DevPolicy looks at what happened when the US-based Center for Global Development got a wad of cash from the Norwegian Government to advocate that wealthier countries should spend to combat global warming. (Full disclosure: ASPI did not receive money from the Norwegian Government to publish this post.)

Update: on the anniversary of 9/11, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer tweeted a stream of recollections and images from 11 September 2001:

9:05 WH Chief of Staff Andy Card interrupts the Pres to whisper in his hear – the second tower has been hit. "America is under attack."

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 11, 2014

Bush also told VP – and I quote – "We're at war Dick and we're going to find out who did this and we're going to kick their ass."

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 11, 2014

FOne Capt. Mark Tillman told me 10 yrs later that we took off at unusually steep ascent bcause he had a report of a sniper at end of runway.

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 11, 2014

Video

Bill Scher and Matt Lewis debate the long-term consistency of President Obama’s counterterrorism strategy in a new Bloggingheads.tv video (56mins). They also discuss whether Obama dithered on Syria and if, given his recent speech, he can continue his brand as the ‘ender of wars’.

Events

Canberra: former ASPI director Prof Hugh White is giving a talk on what’s wrong with defence policy and how to fix it, Molonglo Theatre, ANU on Monday 15 September at 5.30pm. Registration essential.

If you haven’t already, sign up for the ANU’s annual Indonesia Update. This year’s iteration casts a spotlight on the Yudhoyono years and feature the world’s top Indonesia scholars at the Coombs Lecture Theatre, ANU Friday 19 and Saturday 20 September. Registration and program details here.

Natalie Sambhi is an analyst at ASPI and managing editor of The Strategist. Image courtesy of leg0fenris.