A year after the UK signed the Separation Agreement with Scotland, and two years after the Independence Referendum, negotiations between the two countries are dragging contentiously on. The remaining nations of newly dismembered Great Britain are in the painful throes of constitutional reorganization. Relations between Westminster and Edinburgh are chilly at best. Nevertheless, Scotland’s President, Alex [Read more…]
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A Dream of Scottish Secession (Standpoint Mag Online, 9 Sept, 2014)
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Building the US-Kurdistan Special Relationship (WSJ, July 10, 2014)
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A U.S. base in Kurdistan would improve the U.S.’s strategic position in the region while guaranteeing Kurdish independence. The Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is reeling from the sudden loss of key northern cities to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. Baghdad is looking increasingly to Iran and Russia for military assistance. That’s [Read more…]
Good News From Afghanistan? (Commentary Magazine, July/August 2014)
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On the Unheralded Transformation of Kabul “Everybody knows the war is over./ Everybody knows the good guys lost.” -Leonard Cohen Everyone knows that there has been no progress and no development in Afghanistan, that the West’s efforts there since the overthrow of the Taliban have been a gigantic waste of blood and treasure. Everyone knows that the [Read more…]
India à la Modi (The Weekly Standard, June 2, 2014)
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Hope and Change on the Subcontinent The Indian elections that ended with a resounding victory for the Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi and an even more resounding defeat of the ruling Congress party have huge implications not just for India’s potential prosperity, political evolution, and unity but also for the region and the world economy. For most [Read more…]
Labour's Defence Opportunity (Demos Quarterly, April 2014)
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The Coalition’s mishandling of Britain’s defences presents the opposition with a political opportunity, argues Jonathan Foreman. The Conservatives were once seen as the party especially supportive of defence priorities; this should no longer be the case. The Cameron Coalition’s apparent indifference to such priorities and its willingness to diminish the armed forces capabilities and capacity offer Labour [Read more…]
A GI Bill for the UK (Demos Quarterly January 2014)
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The British welfare system is normally considered superior to the US’s, but in one respect – the treatment of those who have served in the armed forces – America leaves us way behind. Jonathan Foreman argues that the shoddy treatment of veterans is a political opportunity for Labour. When US veterans come back from the war in Afghanistan [Read more…]
Oscar and the Oppressors (Spectator Life 29 March 2014)
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Hollywood loves a social conscience picture, but its own culture is more conservative than it looks As host Ellen DeGeneres joked at the Academy Awards, there were two outcomes that night: ‘Possibility number one: 12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture. And possibility two: you’re all racists.’ There is little question that 12 Years a Slave is a well-made, [Read more…]
America cares for its veterans; we betray ours (The Sunday Times Nov.11, 2013)
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The lack of support for retired soldiers shames us and must change Only fools, the desperate and the supremely dutiful may be drawn to join Britain’s armed forces in the near future. This is partly because the government’s cuts will render them too small and feeble to be used in anything but a symbolic defence of [Read more…]
Why Americans (And the West) Should Care About Scottish Secession (TWS Sept. 18 2014)
This week’s referendum on Scottish independence may seem like an obscure, perhaps even Ruritanian quarrel to many Americans, but it has profound implications not just for the U.K. and Europe but also for the United States. Most of the debate in the U.K. and elsewhere about Scottish secession has concentrated on whether an independent Scotland could [Read more…]