The Guardian gives us a handy reminder on Uprising Etiquette: A senior member of Benghazi’s revolutionary council told Martin: "they were carrying espionage equipment, reconnaissance equipment, multiple passports and weapons. This is no way to conduct yourself during an uprising. Gaddafi is bringing in thousands of mercenaries to kill us, most […]
Max Atkinson has been inviting readers to submit draft speeches for Doomed Dictators. Here are the seven entries, with three distinguished judges having to work out who wins. Of course it all depends quite how doomed the dictator thinks he (and it is usually a ‘he’) thinks he is. If […]
Remember the resounding spanking the Serbian legal authorities received in a London court over their attempt to extradite former Bosnian leader Ejup Ganic to Belgrade on war crimes charges? Now they are trying their luck in the Austrian courts. Former Yugoslav army general Jovan Divjak has been arrested in Austria on […]
What is the argument about Libya and sanctions ‘really’ all about? It’s a Negotiation, as a shrewd and well-placed reader has written in to say: I was interested in your recent comment about Libyan Sanctions, which hits the nail on the head. Plus you can be sure that the tighter […]
A sharp-edged piece by James Rogers at European Geostrategy on what Cathy Ashton’s recent Budapest speech tell us about the EU’s vision of itself, or not: "The strength of the EU lies, paradoxically, in its inability to throw its weight around. Its influence flows from the fact that it is […]
There was I thinking that Venezuela’s President Chavez was a crazed lumpen Leftist. And now he goes and confounds me by surpassing evil Wisconsin governor Scott Walker by handing out exemplary brutality to brave working-class Venezuelan trades-unionists. Hurrah.
Is right here. Behold the bewilderment, bemusement and sheer baffledness of Professor Mike Gonzalez at positions taken by sundry Latin American leaders on the general subject of Col Gadaffi’s career prospects: Yet the response to the Libyan events from Latin America’s radicals has been perplexing and disturbing. Chávez himself has […]
My eyes popped out on their little stalks this morning when I saw this one: Don’t blame Tony Blair for talking to a tyrant If Blair’s phone calls to Gaddafi mean even one less life is lost in Libya they will have been worthwhile What? Whaaaat? The evil Precautionary Principle, […]
Just back from being interviewed by BBC TV for the News at 2200 tonight (and for the BBC News Channel) on the Libyan drama, and in particular what options exist for Western policy-makers. The BBC had picked up my piece here yesterday giving a range of policy options. My formal claim […]
Update: welcome Guido readers Imagine you are William Hague or Hillary Clinton, pressed with a real sense of wanting to Do Something to help the Libyan masses. You draw a noisy stick across the bars of the FCO/State Department cage to rouse the bemused and sulky inmates, and demand ideas for action. […]
