Hopes for a UN relaunch in Syria
Yesterday President Obama made a speech to the UN in which he endorsed the aims of the organisation and offered his support to it as the best hope for achieving […]
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Ukraine after Crimean Separation
The West has mishandled its relationships with Ukraine and with Russia. President Putin’s annexation of Crimea now looks irreversible – despite the West’s protests. The West appears impotent, whilst President […]
» Read moreThe Future of Ukraine
Introduction It isn’t easy to see how Ukraine’s future can now be determined by its people. By rejecting a negotiated peace-plan, the protesters in Maidan Square have inadvertently (but predictably) […]
» Read moreThe US and Cuba
Both Americans and Cubans would benefit from a better relationship between their two countries – but Congress will probably prevent this, to judge by Republican reactions to Tuesday’s handshake between […]
» Read moreAmerican moral authority
The Economist asserted that “Meeting Mr Assad’s atrocities with appropriate force will help to rebuild American moral authority in the world” (Leading Article, 7 Sept: Fight this war, not the […]
» Read moreProposed Intervention in Syria
There are obvious comparisons between the current considerations being given to intervention in Syria and the previous political processes which led to the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999 and […]
» Read moreUnresolved issues in use of drones
In Thursday’s address at National Defense University in Washington DC, President Obama defended the use of drones. Whilst announcing some welcome restrictions on their use, particularly in banning the use […]
» Read morePeace and Strength
We have been reminded that Ronald Reagan advocated “peace through strength”, which included the twin policies of deterrence and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Deterrence relied on ‘mutually-assured destruction’: it sent the […]
» Read moreDrone strikes
As reported by HuffPost, drone strike limitations are being considered by Congress. The article doesn’t mention one very good reason for limiting the use of drones: their propaganda impact. As […]
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