Craig Stockings’ fiery official history of the East Timor crisis

This is a review of Professor Craig Stockings' fiery official history of the East Timor crisis and the Australian led intervention. It spans the diplomatic, historical, cultural, geographic and political background to the Indonesian occupation in 1975, the 1999 ballot and the part played by the UN Assistance Mission East Timor (UNAMET) as well as the subsequent Australian led intervention in September 1999. This no-punches-pulled account exposes significant shortcomings in Australia's departments of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade, and beyond.