Craig Murray’s vanity knows no bounds. His ‘story’ is soon to be dramatised on the BBC! If I can bear to listen I’ll do so and give you a full and fair review. Meanwhile he launches another misguided missile at the role of the government’s Law Officers. He appears to […]
One of the pleasures of writing this website is that new e-friends appear, usually people who know all sorts of things I don’t know. Thus I am pleased to share with you this interesting contribution about Google/China and US/Switzerland as sent to me from a reader who closely follows IT security questions and […]
Adam Jasser (Polish, Reuters journalist-turned-pundit, good egg) argues that the grim problems besetting Greece and its public finances could lead to the Eurozone getting even stronger: The argument goes that a default would require Greece to leave the euro zone and increase pressure on other peripherals such as Spain or Portugal. […]
Headlines pouring out over what Sir Michael Wood said this morning to the Chilcot Inquiry: Straw rejected advice that Iraq invasion was ‘unlawful’ Let me give you my potted view of this as a lawyer by training but not practice. The various FCO and other documents (some formerly SECRET) now […]
Here from euobserver is a detailed account of the goings-on behind the EU scenes, as everyone tries to work out how the new EU External Action Service will be structured. And who will get which jobs, since that will have a huge influence on the way it all works (or […]
The tumultuous launch of ADRg Ambassadors gives way to a requirement to write an article for DIPLOMAT magazine about Diplomats and Mediation. One interesting theme is ‘neutrality’. Is it possible for any international mediator in a dispute or problem to be truly impartial, and does it matter if that is […]
Edging back to normal life again after three days running around bewinter’d Poland. What a pleasure to be in a country able to cope sensibly with snow. Far from snow is Haiti. Ben Macintyre blames the French for brutalising Haiti into paying ruinous reparations for its temerity in wanting to espouse […]
Here is what is said to be (and looks like) extracts from an FCO memo warning of hard times ahead as Cuts come along: We know that next year will be a lot tougher than this year. This is partly because we just have less money (like all Departments we […]
Just when you were thinking that I am a lone voice among former British diplomats lamenting the plummet in intellectual coherence and standards within the New Labour FCO, here is another one. He has sprung into action after seeing this strange article by David Miliband in the New Statesman in which […]
I have been asked by the FCO to give a talk there later in January to a group of foreign visitors about Using Democracy for Peace. Or maybe it was Using Peace for Democracy. I forget. One or the other. As always the Balkans is/are a laboratory for cutting-edge research […]
