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

We were obsessed — but what did Baghdad bloggers think of the Chilcot Inquiry?

‘Retired civil servants often bite hand that used to feed them, especially when answering questions from one of their own’

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

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

It's fashionable to say the US is in terminal decline. Don't bet on it - still less wish for it

The Man who Invented History: Travels with Herodotus by Justin Marozzi

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

‘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’