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Unimagined wars are the most deadlyDear , Armageddon was trending on Twitter yesterday. Are things really that serious? Well, some on Twitter obviously think so. I thought I knew what Armageddon was about. It’s the battle at the end of the world referenced (foretold is a bit of a stretch) in Revelations, the last book in the Christian Bible. Revelations is the most avoided book in the Bible because it’s hard to know what the author was saying, and a lot of the imagery is confronting, ugly and disturbing (like the aesthetics of "washed in the blood of the Lamb" for example).. I know Armageddon is a reference to the plain of Megiddo, which is next to a fort built in northern Israel by King Ahab (he was married to Jezebel, her name might be more familiar), but Wikipedia told me much more. Not only do some Christians take Armageddon literally (as much as you can take something literally that literally no one can be sure they understand), but so do some Muslims. And now we have yet another war in the Middle East. Maybe there will be battle on the plains of Megiddo, and maybe it will be ultimately cataclysmic (another apocalyptic term). Maybe someone is even trying to organise such a thing in the belief it might be cataclysmic In our Western world, the idea that people would be motivated to genocidal war by obscure religious texts is unimaginable, but in the rest of the world, such religious ideas may be very influential. And not just religious ideas. Some of Karl Marx’s meanderings qualify as apocalyptic as well. And that is one of our key strategic weaknesses as Westerners – lack of imagination and the inability to empathise with the other - so that we fail to anticipate or plan for events which from the others’ point of view are not obscure but obviously likely. Which is a good reason why you should come to our lunch with Wing Commander (rtd) Peter Layton (PhD). “Australian grand strategies in a time of real or imagined wars”. Good defence is about anticipating potential threats and preparing for them, but as resources are limited, it is impossible to provide for everything imaginable, so you have to make choices. Bring your imaginations along and join the discussion on Tuesday November 14, lunch at the Brisbane Club. To book click here. Details are: . 
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