The Gaza dilemma

Jeffrey Goldberg, formerly of the New Yorker and now at The Atlantic, is a fantastic writer and always worth reading on the Middle East. His post, flagged up by Clive, explaining why he isn’t commenting more on the situation in Gaza, is as depressing as it is moving:

“I've served in the Israeli Army in Gaza; I've been kidnapped in Gaza; I've reported for years from Gaza; I hope my former army doesn't kill the wrong people in Gaza; I hope Israeli soldiers all leave Gaza alive; I know

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Targeting Iran

I missed Robert Kaplan's latest dispatch yesterday, but this passage is still worth flagging up:

"How do you fight unconventional, sub-state armies empowered by ideas? You undermine them subtly over time, or you crush them utterly, brutally. Israel, unable to tolerate continued rocket attacks on its people, has decided on the latter course. Our own diplomacy with Iran now rests on whether or not Israel succeeds. We need to create leverage before we can negotiate with the clerical regime, and that leverage can only come from an Israeli moral victory—one that leaves Hamas

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A surprise choice

The appointment of Leon Panetta to run the CIA in the Obama administration has sent shock waves through the US intelligence community.

Panetta, who was Chief of Staff in the Clinton White House, is a budget hawk who in the past has argued for tougher control of intelligence spending. At the same time, he has been a fierce critic of the CIA’s campaign of kidnapping, assassination, torture and warrantless wiretapping, which was authorized under the Bush administration.

For decades, the CIA has fiercely resisted outsiders being imposed on its clandestine and...

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A relationship on the wane?

A typically insightful piece by Rachel Sylvester today; this time on the Obama administration's precarious commitment to the "special relationship".  The key revelation is about a report doing the rounds among British defence and diplomatic officials:

"Perhaps most important of all, the military alliance between Britain and America - which has cemented the political alliance since the First World War - is beginning to crack. I am told that a report circulating at the highest level in the Ministry of Defence concludes that there are now serious doubts in Washington about the effectiveness

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In 2009 the Tories need to kick their dependency on Dave

One habit the Tory party should aim to cure itself of in 2009 is its over-reliance on David Cameron to gets its message across. Some Tories defend the heavy use of Cameron by arguing that he is both the party’s most attractive face and the only way they can guarantee getting their message reported in the media. But using Cameron for nearly all high-profile announcements prevents other members of the shadow Cabinet from developing national recognition. For instance, I fail to see why George Osborne shouldn’t have made today’s announcements on...

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