This shot looks down at the back of the Australian War Memorial (the domed building in the foreground), along Anzac Parade, across the lake to the old Parliament House (the white building on the other side of the lake), and the new Parliament House on Capital Hill at the far end.

I have heard it said that this design is deliberate; that the intention is to force the politicians who are safely ensconced in the parliament building to look out of the window, to think before committing troops to a conflict, to understand the risks involved and the potential price, and be very sure that the course of action is worth it. I don't know whether that story is true or not. More to the point, I'm none too sure whether it has ever worked.

(Lt. General Gregory Newbold (USMC Rtd) put my position on this better than I could when referring to the Iraq invasion in an essay that he wrote for Time in 2006. Specifically, he said that it "was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions — or bury the results." Put another way, if you're going to do it, do it right. If you can't or won't do it right, don't do it at all.)

This shot was taken from the top of Mt Ainslie. The reddish glow from the early morning sky is reflected in the water.