Michael Totten has written a good piece about the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, albeit as seen from the Azerbaijan side of things. We tend to think that the Soviet Union broke up ‘peacefully’ (just as we inaccurately think that South Africa’s transition from apartheid was ‘peaceful’). This is because the vastness of the […]
On the subject of feminism, here is Naomi Wolf gushing on the psychological gains to be had from shrouding her body, Muslim woman-style: I experienced it myself. I put on a shalwar kameez and a headscarf in Morocco for a trip to the bazaar. Yes, some of the warmth I encountered […]
I have opined about the Rules purporting to lay down what diplomats can and can’t say once they leave the FCO. See eg here. Now my former colleage Sir Edward Clay has reiterated his concerns about the FCO Rules: The rule requires former diplomats to consult about any proposed public […]
Welcome Instapundit readers. David Miliband puts forward the best available case for why the Kosovo precedent has no bearing on the Georgia case: Some argue that Russia has done nothing not previously done by Nato in Kosovo in 1999. But this comparison does not bear serious examination. Leave to one […]
Russia has responded ingeniously to the argument that its forces should leave Georgia – by redefining Georgia! Having announced that Russia recognises the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, Moscow now can say that its troops on the ground in these territories are no longer in Georgia. Howzat? As and when needed […]
Michael Binyon deploys chess metaphors to describe Russia’ s military push into Georgia: Vladimir Putin lost several pawns on the chessboard – Kosovo, Iraq, Nato membership for the Baltic states, US renunciation of the ABM treaty, US missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic. But he waited. The trap was set in […]
Welcome Instapundit readers. While we Crawfs have been travelling the Georgia story has moved on, to the point where French President Sarkozy has been helping broker some sort of truce and possible peace plan. No end of commentaries too, of course, many dwelling on what this episode tells us […]
More on the feisty Report by the HoC Public Affairs Select Committee report which came down heavily on FCO rules purporting to limit what diplomats might say after they leave the Service. Craig Murray calls these regulations ‘near-fascistic’: The idea, of course, is that only the ministers’ version of truth will […]
Via Brian Barder, this really good – and meaty – assessment of the current plight of Kosovo by Jeremy Harding. It in fact headlines the Kosovo situation, but really it is about the Limits of Diplomacy – how far can countries on their own or in teams act deliberately (a) […]
Craig Murray responds to my previous post: Charles, You brush very lightly over the fact that you praised in the warmest terms at the time the telegrams you now rubbish – as did numerous other Ambassadors including Jeremy Greenstock who commended the to his New York morning meeting. I think […]
