Defence

A city in the grip of rumour and recrimination—an eye-witness account of the jihadi attacks and their aftermath

‘Turkey’s membership would mean a European Union bordering on Iraq and Syria’

‘In the struggle against terrorism, is our foreign policy an aggravating factor? Yes, in that anything we do aggravates them’

‘Mid-2010 might be too late for Obama to switch gears on Iran. Its nuclear clock is ticking faster and faster’

After widespread protest, a Japanese High Court ruled that their similar scheme could not legally be enforced. Will people in the UK just roll over and allow the government to know all about them?

The Armistice commemorations in Ypres: Remembrance cannot cure us of the instinct for war, but it can help to restrain us

A new generation of soldiers is as questioning of its role in Afghanistan as the society from which it is recruited

‘Mr Obama subscribes to the European critique of the Bush administration, but the self-abasement that the critics demand from America is as implausible as it is undesirable’

‘Let’s stop accusing the US of being a big bully. They are the ones who foot the bill and provide the military hardware’

‘Obama will try to succeed in the Middle East where Clinton and Bush failed’