Using military force requires considerable thought beforehand. Planning for afterwards doesn’t seem to be part of the USA’s war-fighting approach. The Americans invaded Iraq with no plan for rebuilding the country, and so created what seems to be a failed state. How long after withdrawal will it take for Afghanistan to be re-taken by the Taliban – […]
USA Fighting the Wrong Wars Read More »
One of many sad things about the current Gaza disaster, is how little thinking is taking place. Especially as some “liberals’ seem now to be siding with Hamas – a brutal terrorist group. Polarisation is as ever killing ordinary people. Neither side will relent. Israel isn’t going to stop settling Palestinian “territory” because that would be to
Gaza: Don’t Take Sides! – especially Liberals. Read More »
Once the suppressive force of a regime is removed, countries like Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan have no mechanisms to stop extremists filling the vacuum. There are worse things than dictators. The CIA’s funding of ISIS as the ‘official” opposition to the Syrian regime has created one such monster. The principle of “my enemy’s enemy is
Remove Dictators to Create Monsters Read More »
TIME and other US news outlets are trying to present Russian people as believing all the various internet nonsense stories that incidents like the Malaysian Airlines tragedy invariably create. That MH17 was loaded with dead bodies in Amsterdam and the pilots parachuted out; that Putin was flying over the same area in his private plane (and
Russians are Not Fools! Read More »
The big danger with ISIS is if ordinary people take them seriously. It’s clear that the radicalisation of their followers is crude and extreme; even Osama Bin Laden urged them to temper their ruthlessness. Rightly he said this would turn the tide of ground-level Suuni support against them. The much-touted Islamist threat to Western democracies depends
ISIS Extremism is a Good Thing Read More »
The poignant D-Day remembrance ceremonies have as ever been turned into a media circus. The BBC has trotted out the same tired old formulae they use at such events synonymous with Royal Weddings, Trooping of the Colour and so on. Obama even sought to justify the war in Afghanistan by having the sheer cheek to
D-Day and Media Enthusiasm for War Read More »
I’ve already written about the problem of winning wars these days. How Do We Win the Afghan War? The secret is to get your definition of victory accepted… This is a big PR stunt for the White House, as it has to justify many deaths, and the expenditure of much blood and treasure without being blamed…
Obama fails in claiming “Victory” over Putin Read More »
Among the many things conveniently forgotten in this recent Ukraine crisis, is that the EU was never going to accept Ukraine for membership. It’s too corrupt and disorganised with politicians who are down-right bad. In 2004, the EU lumped Ukraine together with other equally unlikely EU members Syria, Jordan and Algeria as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
Nobody Wants Ukraine – and never did… Read More »
“Now I’m a prisoner of my own freedom to think and decide as I wish. I cultivate that freedom and fight for it. I may make mistakes, some huge, but one of my few virtues is I say what I think.” President Hose Mujica of Uruguay He could live in a huge palace
Tribute to President Hose Mujica of Uruguay Read More »
What a difference twenty years makes… We used to have intelligence experts who understood Russia, through all its turmoils from Imperial serfdom, communism, Soviet Union through to western acolyte as a Democracy-in-Waiting. But all those people were sidelined back in the early nineties when Russia was deemed too weak to bother keeping close tabs on.
Big Mistake not to Understand Russia Read More »