Archive

Military policy

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Keith Rankin Essay – War Trophies: Considering USA, Iran, and Japan

April 20, 2026

Essay by Keith Rankin, 20 April 2026 It’s commonplace, especially in The West, to think of wars in binary terms. In those terms, wars are either won or lost, like a sports match. And the symbol of victory is a trophy. In a match-up, the symbol of defeat is the loss of a trophy. In ... <a title="Keith Rankin Essay – War Trophies: Considering USA, Iran, and Japan" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/20/keith-rankin-essay-war-trophies-considering-usa-iran-and-japan/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Essay – War Trophies: Considering USA, Iran, and Japan">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin Analysis – The Axis Nuclear Option in light of Japan 1945

April 8, 2026

Analysis by Keith Rankin, 8 April 2026. Based on my reading of the latest upscaling of US rhetoric, one of the military options being considered by the Israeli-American axis is the nuclear option. Refer Trump says a ‘whole civilization will die tonight’ if deal isn’t reached, One News, 8 April 2026. The possibility of Netanyahu ... <a title="Keith Rankin Analysis – The Axis Nuclear Option in light of Japan 1945" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/08/keith-rankin-analysis-the-axis-nuclear-option-in-light-of-japan-1945/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Analysis – The Axis Nuclear Option in light of Japan 1945">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin Analysis – USS Tripoli: What’s in a Name?

March 27, 2026

Analysis by Keith Rankin – This analysis was first published on 26 March 2026. One of the United States’ navy ships heading towards the Persian Gulf is the USS Tripoli. (USS = United States Ship.) How the heck did it get that name? (Will the next two United States’ naval ships be called the USS ... <a title="Keith Rankin Analysis – USS Tripoli: What’s in a Name?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/keith-rankin-analysis-uss-tripoli-whats-in-a-name/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Analysis – USS Tripoli: What’s in a Name?">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin Analysis – Has New Zealand just signed up for World War Three?

March 27, 2026

Analysis by Keith Rankin – this analysis was first published on 24 March 2026. A minute after my radio-alarm went off this morning, I was ‘privileged’ to hear this deeply scary interview with the Deputy Prime Minister: Deputy PM Seymour on NZ, Iran and fuel relief, RNZ 24 March 2026. For most of the interview ... <a title="Keith Rankin Analysis – Has New Zealand just signed up for World War Three?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/keith-rankin-analysis-has-new-zealand-just-signed-up-for-world-war-three/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Analysis – Has New Zealand just signed up for World War Three?">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin Analysis – 1956, 1967, 1973, 1979 and all that: Shipping, Oil, and Inflation

March 20, 2026

Analysis by Keith Rankin, 20 March 2026. The human world changed twice during the twentieth century. The first transition lasted from 1914 to 1945. The principal cause of World War Two was World War One. So, to understand the drivers of that long transition, indeed a great levelling event, it is necessary to investigate the ... <a title="Keith Rankin Analysis – 1956, 1967, 1973, 1979 and all that: Shipping, Oil, and Inflation" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/20/keith-rankin-analysis-1956-1967-1973-1979-and-all-that-shipping-oil-and-inflation/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Analysis – 1956, 1967, 1973, 1979 and all that: Shipping, Oil, and Inflation">Read more</a>

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EDITORIAL: When Mediocrity Fails National Interest

March 3, 2026

Editorial by Selwyn Manning. The New Zealand Government’s response to Israel-US attacks on Iran has revealed a chasm. On one side are those who argue; that New Zealand must stay aligned with its 20th century allies right or wrong. On the other side are those who insist; that the long fought for reputation, of a ... <a title="EDITORIAL: When Mediocrity Fails National Interest" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/03/editorial-when-mediocrity-fails-national-interest/" aria-label="Read more about EDITORIAL: When Mediocrity Fails National Interest">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin Analysis – The Greater Evil

March 3, 2026

Analysis by Keith Rankin, 2 March 2026. We keep hearing that Iran is an “evil” regime run by “clerics”. This conflation of an unscientific and emotive concept (‘evil’) with a cultural occupation (‘cleric’) is made in the context of picking on an ethnic or religious group of people as inferior. In this context, ‘cleric’ applies ... <a title="Keith Rankin Analysis – The Greater Evil" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/03/keith-rankin-analysis-the-greater-evil/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Analysis – The Greater Evil">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin on Nuclear Calculus

September 21, 2025

Analysis by Keith Rankin. Over the last week I have subverted the western geo-cultural tropes of ‘Good versus Evil’ and ‘Beautiful versus Ugly’. (Geopolitical Rugby: Bad plays Evil, for the final World Cup 16 Sep 2025 and Lookism11 Sep 2025; both on Scoop and Evening Report.) Here I consider our new version of the former ... <a title="Keith Rankin on Nuclear Calculus" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/09/21/keith-rankin-on-nuclear-calculus/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin on Nuclear Calculus">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin Analysis – Palestine Israel: Implementing a One-State Solution

June 25, 2025

Analysis by Keith Rankin. It’s time that the nations of the world (or at least the influential western nations) accept the reality that all the lands that constituted 1920-1948 Mandatory Palestine should be formally recognised as a single nation-state; ideally called Palestine Israel or Israel-Palestine, but more realistically called Israel. In other words, the never-viable ... <a title="Keith Rankin Analysis – Palestine Israel: Implementing a One-State Solution" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/06/25/keith-rankin-analysis-palestine-israel-implementing-a-one-state-solution/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Analysis – Palestine Israel: Implementing a One-State Solution">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin Analysis – Using Cuba 1962 to explain Trump’s brinkmanship

May 27, 2025

Analysis by Keith Rankin. People of a certain age will be aware that the 1962 Cuba Missile Crisis was, for the world as a whole, the most dangerous moment of the Cold War. The 1962 ‘Battle of Cuba’ was a ‘cold battle’ in the same sense that the Cold War was a ‘cold war’. (Only ... <a title="Keith Rankin Analysis – Using Cuba 1962 to explain Trump’s brinkmanship" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/05/27/keith-rankin-analysis-using-cuba-1962-to-explain-trumps-brinkmanship/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Analysis – Using Cuba 1962 to explain Trump’s brinkmanship">Read more</a>

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Keith Rankin Essay – Judaism, Antisemitism, and Israel

December 19, 2024

Analysis by Keith Rankin. To understand antisemitism, we need a meaning for ‘semitism’, and another -ism to contextualise semitism. Literally, semitism means the promotion of the Semitic people, whoever they might be. The most appropriate comparator for ‘semitism’ is ‘hamitism’, relating to the ‘hamites’ or ‘Hamitic people’; analogous to the ‘Semitic people’. These are archaic ... <a title="Keith Rankin Essay – Judaism, Antisemitism, and Israel" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/12/19/keith-rankin-essay-judaism-antisemitism-and-israel/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin Essay – Judaism, Antisemitism, and Israel">Read more</a>