Points East & West
The Rouhani Delusion
‘Thanks to sanctions, the West was winning the race against a nuclear Iran. There is a good chance now that Iran will be the victor’
No Deal
‘The United States and other powers appear resigned to conceding, in the final stage of a future agreement with Iran, that Tehran has a right to enrich uranium’
Hamlet Of The White House
‘Obama found it easier to perform the role of critical intellectual than commander-in-chief’
Middle-Eastern Myths
‘If peace is to be attained in the Middle East, six mistaken assumptions must first be discarded’
Lessons From History
In Syria, as in the Spanish Civil War, the West is depriving itself of the chance to influence the outcome
Pyongyang’s Ballistic Bluff
‘A North Korean attack could be the last nail in the coffin of unchallenged American power in the world’
Iran’s Time Bomb
‘Just as Western governments failed to predict other nations’ nuclear tests before it was too late, so it may come to pass with Iran’
Tackling Tehran
‘Despite appearances, if sanctions continue Iran’s economy will collapse well before it can assemble a nuclear weapon’
Israel’s Not So Empty Threats
‘Israel has been threatening to launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran for two years now. Is it merely crying wolf?’
Confronting Islamic Intimidation
‘Since when does violence by those whose religious feelings are offended weaken America’s resolve to stand by its values?’
Tolerating the intolerant
“For those who thought that a global pandemic would sound the death knell for identity politics, think again”
How to prevent the next pandemic
‘I have been reporting as a science journalist for years that the world is at increasing risk of pandemics like this; that this was predicted; that we know what we need to do to prepare and we simply haven’t done it; and that more and worse pandemics are coming so we need to do that, now’
D’où parles-tu? The post-truth world
Power, illusion and the open society: how postmodernism undermines our foundational concepts