David Cameron insists he has 'a fully worked through strategy' for Iraq. If...
Is the Government fumbling on Iraq? “There are not going to be boots on the ground, and we're not going to be sending in the British Army”, claimed David Cameron. Yet the SAS has been on the ground...
View ArticleJames Foley's murder should only stiffen our resolve to destroy Islamic State
There is something disturbing about the fact that the murder of a single Westerner should elicit greater shock and garner more attention than the torture and killing of hundreds upon hundreds of...
View ArticleAfter the murder of James Foley, it's natural to want pay terrorists ransom...
The murder of James Foley, the threatened murder of his co-hostage Steven Sotloff, and the reported kidnapping of further hostages in Syria have revived interest in an old question: should ransoms be...
View ArticleWhy the new Iraqi government can kickstart the real campaign against Isil
We in Britain are relative novices at coalition government. We dabble in them every few decades, but prefer to avoid government formation at the pace of elephant gestation. Iraqis, on the other hands,...
View ArticleWill the UK be secure if Scotland becomes independent?
A Yes vote in this week’s independence referendum would not just leave the UK politically and socially ruptured, but would also have potentially far-reaching consequences for British foreign and...
View ArticleTurkey must join the fight against Isil
For the past few weeks, we have witnessed the grotesque spectacle of three Britons paraded before us by the Islamic State (Isil), one murdered on camera, another on his knees and threatened with the...
View ArticleSyria airstrikes: will Bashar al-Assad be celebrating these attacks on Isil?
For Syria’s opposition, there is a cruel irony in the fact that, just over one year after the cancellation of planned missiles strikes to punish Assad’s chemical weapon use, American and Arab warplanes...
View ArticleIraq crisis: 5 things MPs should know before voting to bomb Isil
As parliament is recalled to consider British involvement in Iraq, and possibly Syria, what factors should MPs consider before voting for intervention today? Although I’ve explained the context to this...
View ArticlePaying ransoms only finances more killing
It was a tale of two British hostages. Alan Henning risked his life to relieve the suffering of Muslims in Syria. Isil kidnapped and then murdered him, adding his name to 5,500 civilian victims in Iraq...
View ArticleThere may be good reasons not to recognise Palestine, but unsettled borders...
MPs are debating today whether to call upon the government to recognize the state of Palestine, following Sweden’s recent decision to do so. This is a sensitive and provocative subject, and I want to...
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