The British Government’s approach on the BAE/Saudi corruption problem (see below) in a deeper way is all about how a country pursues its interests. Part of getting what you want is projecting a sense of Power and Purpose, so that when a negotiation starts others feel cowed by your self-confidence. You establish up-front […]
This fierce piece by Sam Leith weighs into the British Government’s handling of the Al-Yamamah fraud enquiry: There was enough evidence of corruption in the Al-Yamamah deal to warrant an independent investigation. That investigation … was stopped after an explicit threat to withdraw a big arms contract, and an implicit threat […]
Only now has the full tragic truth emerged about Hillary Clinton’s 1996 visit to Tuzla in Bosnia. This authentic tape shows exactly what happened just as Mrs Clinton was meeting a young Bosnian girl at Tuzla airport. US Ambassdor John Menzies and Bosniac leader Ejup Ganic were both blown away […]
Having worked for the FCO for nearly 30 years, I now tend to brood in a maudlin sort of way on the Big Picture. Not for me any more the excitement of the next Ministerial visit or the latest meeting of world leaders. See for example the outcome of the recent Progressive […]
Great news from Cuba! More reforms! Take the cases of Cuba and, say, Singapore. Both islands in a nice warm climate. Cuba in 1958 had a per capita GDP of $3,170 according to the OECD. (Canada‘s was $8,947) … the island nation’s per person wealth was higher than any East Asian country […]
A good question. In fact really the only question in foreign affairs is this one: Does Bad Behaviour have Bad Consequences? Now we have one answer in the awesome ruling in the High Court yesterday that HM Government had been wrong in law in blocking corruption investigations under official pressure from […]
The BBC shows us pretty pictures of a display of Chairman Mao badges at the British Museum: they are said to be "very red, very bright, and very shiny" by Museum Curator Helen Weng. One of the striking features of living in Poland is to visit flea markets such as […]
Once, back in the days when UK/Russia relations were excellent and purposeful (ie 1994), I had to fly from Moscow to Murmansk to help set up a meeting there between British Foreign Minister Douglas Hurd and Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev. Murmansk was chosen because it was Kozyrev’s Duma constituency – […]
An article today in the unhappy New York Times purports to describe the Republican Party’s "fractious" divisions around John McCain’s foreign policy ideas. Pragmatists are locked in fierce battle with Neoconservatives, among them the "prominent neoconservative" Robert Kagan. Aaargh. This clumsy piece maybe explains why those NYT share prices have been […]
