THERE IS no doubt that Western opinion is being softened up for a US or Israeli strike against the Iranian centrifuges at Natanz. “Can anyone within range of Iran’s missiles feel safe?”, screams a full-page advertisement in the International Herald Tribune, displaying a map of the Eurasian land mass with Iran at its centre. As … Continue reading The madness of bombing Iran

THERE ARE TWO competing visions of international relations. On the one side is the Blair-Bush “new” doctrine, which links world security to the spread of Western values. On the other side is the traditional doctrine of national sovereignty, which precludes intervention in the domestic affairs of sovereign states. In between wobbles the United Nations, whose … Continue reading A fatal flaw at the heart of Bush and Blair’s democratic crusade

CLEVER ELSIE, soon to be married to Hans, was sent down to the cellar by her mother to get some beer. She saw a pickaxe above her which had been forgotten by the masons. Clever Elsie was paralysed by the thought that “if I should marry Hans and we should get a little baby, and … Continue reading A cautionary tale about how we got terrified of the risk monster

LIBERALS ON both sides of the Atlantic are dismayed by President Bush’s nomination of the arch-hawk John Bolton as US representative to the UN. They are wrong; Bolton’s appointment may give the UN just the shot in the arm it needs. It promises serious US interest in UN reform; it challenges the UN to get … Continue reading At last, a power of sense at the UN

On 17 October the people of Belarus will be asked to approve a constitutional change allowing their President, Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, a third term. No one doubts the result.  As Joseph Stalin once said: 'It's not how people vote that matters, it's who counts the votes'. Why should anyone mind? Belarus is a small, Soviet-style … Continue reading A new system is crawling from the Soviet wreckage

Sir, There have always been two main areas of uncertainty relevant to current policy towards Iraq (letters, February 8, etc). First, how much weaponry of mass destruction (including means of delivery) does Saddam Hussein possess? Secondly, how much damage can he do with an arsenal of such weapons? The first is a matter for the … Continue reading Letter: Uncovering the dangers in Iraq