There are two inferences that almost everybody agrees on: firstly, that the Taliban has won and will likely exploit the power vacuum for their own barbaric purposes; secondly, that America’s decision to leave is nonetheless the best for all concerned.
Foreign Policy
There are legitimate reasons to be sceptical of Brexit, but one of the silliest claims is that isolationism stems from nostalgia for Empire or even “neo-colonialism”. This violates the first law of all political tactics, which is to know your enemy.
Source Direct: British Neo-Imperialism: Know Your Enemy
Joe Biden’s inauguration yesterday thus had the feeling of a global event, with all of us vicariously participating. Much of the media, including our state broadcaster, put objectivity to bed and resorted to fawning, like Nicholas Witchell narrating the birth of a Royal baby.
Source Direct: Biden with Me
“Powerful forces are converging around a new stability. But just as with Biden’s eventual, narrow victory in the US, achieving it is harder than willing it.”
Analysis: Biden’s ‘Transatlantic Return’ – and what it means for us
“In the world view of the British army, military invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan, bombings in Libya and Syria, and deep co-operation with colonial settler states like Israel and Gulf dictatorships like Saudi Arabia are a-political. Politics is when you disagree, and disagreement is forbidden.”
David Jamieson: Scots should know the name Ahmed al-Babati – he’s been arrested for our exports
“When you make the gun, put the bullet in the chamber, then point the barrel while another man pulls the trigger, who is responsible for the shooting? By any reasonable definition the UK is at war with the people of Yemen.”
David Jamieson: As Covid-19 heaps more dead in Yemen, its time for the UK to stop aiding carnage
How do you unite US politicians in the Trump era? Act against China. The US Senate passed legislation on Thursday to sanction Chinese officials who implement the new Security Law in Hong Kong, a day after the House of Representatives did the same. It will be signed by US President Donald Trump today, all without […]