‘The most successful terrorist organisations are like judo black belts who know how to leverage an opponent’s strength against them’

‘A future Conservative government should be concerned about the hegemony of the Left in higher education’

‘Read what you like into the failure of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 30 years ago this month, but none of its echoes bodes well for us’

‘Like Churchill, Obama is not in awe of the overrated expertise of generals’

‘In his desire to see the bombers go into Iran, John Bolton does not consider the sort of smart sanctions experts actually envisage’

‘What's the point of waging a war thousands of miles away when you cringe before our own Taliban?’

‘Terrorists regard ceasefires as an opportunity to consolidate and rearm. So why do we seek talks with them?’

The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One by David Kilcullen; War Since 1990 and War: A Short History by Jeremy Black

Piracy on the high seas, especially near failed and unstable Muslim states, is becoming an international security headache

While America prepares for the next wave of terrorist attacks, Britain is sleepwalking. Yet it is not too late to avert disaster