Pressuring Putin the only option on Ukraine tragedy
There is a problem with talk about providing an “off ramp” to Vladimir Putin as his war on Ukraine gets bogged down in murderous annihilation. Clearly he believes either that he can pretend to negotiate with the Ukrainian government while all the while trying to annihilate it or else he believes that he can annexe […]
Restoring historic buildings beats letting them crumble
I have no more words this week left to condemn and abhor the ongoing barbarity, criminality and cynical dishonesty of the Russian war unleashed on Ukraine. It seems almost wrong to write about anything else. But there is another more banal topic which came to mind this week when I opened the latest edition of […]
We must accept severe sanctions if we are to stand for anything
Western democracy is under threat from outside and from within. There is a remarkable symmetry between Putin and Trump. Each is a psychological misfit with strong sociopathic tendencies. Each is part of a kleptocratic campaign to subvert democracy. Each admires the statecraft of the other. Each, I dare to say, merits the adjective “evil”. Trump […]
Ukraine deserves more than feather-duster sanctions
On 26th January, my piece here assumed that Putin probably intended to invade Ukraine and that the only response available to the West was a package of massive, severe and crippling sanctions against Russia. And so it has turned out to be. Any lesser response would by the US, NATO, the EU and Pacific region […]
Murdoch will do anything in pursuit of power; Trump and Johnson are the press magnate’s useful idiots
Max Hastings, the historian, journalist and newspaper editor, has a sharp pen and intellect. Writing about the character of Boris Johnson, he has delivered a devastating critique of the British Prime Minister’s character, proclivities, and weaknesses. All his criticisms rang true, coming as they did from a man with extended dealings with Johnson over many […]
We run down the Defence Forces at our peril
The leader of the Green Party, Eamon Ryan, last week caused a major row in government by announcing the closure of Cathal Brugha Barracks, an important military campus, to provide for the building of social and affordable housing. Evidently the announcement took his ministerial colleagues by surprise, not least embattled Simon Coveney, the Minister for […]