Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
If England and Scotland parted, so would their armed forces, hard as the split would be. No country shares its army with another. England would probably want to lease naval bases in Scotland, as Russia does in Ukraine (PDF)
British were right to fight, but wrong not to make some compromise with newly democratic Argentina in the years that followed—for example, by agreeing to share revenues from offshore oil, or to transfer legal sovereignty
Much more is known about terrorism at home and abroad, and the approach to counterterrorism is more pragmatic. But "more knowledge does not necessarily mean greater safety since the threats have multiplied and diversified"
Bitter commentary on American, British military intervention. "In Kabul, foreigners engaged almost exclusively with one another, launching ever-more elaborate holistic strategies to save a nation whose citizens they feared to meet"
Sharp critique of US, British policy. Blaming Pakistan misses the point; better idea would be to make use of Pakistani army's leverage with the Taliban to negotiate end to conflict, unity government in Kabul
Nuclear weapon strategists still stuck in Cold War era of second strikes and mutually assured destruction. All a country needs now is a few cheap bombs to deter any aggressor
The case for eliminating, not just cutting, British defence budget. Cold war was replaced by fantasy proposition of an unspecified but potent enemy. "Truth is we're spending ÂŁ45bn a year on heebie-jeebies"
Sign of change. British generals argue against spending $80bn on submarine nuclear missiles. Cold war over. Security lies in reducing nuclear weapons. Spend money on front-line troops, counter-terrorism
Jaw-dropping take on Hamid Karzai's new posture, after corruption row damaged his relations with US. Poses now as fighter against US regional dominance. Sees Iran as ally, wants deal with Taliban
Orde Wingate, one of finest British commanders of WW2 was as bent as nine-bob note. Rarely washed, tried to cut his own throat, forced 40,000 Italian troops to surrender
After Christmas Day bombing attempt, America worries that Britain has become an exporter of terrorists. Radicals thrive in mosques and colleges serving 1.5m Muslims
