Con Coughlin's Blog, page 15

William Hague is now the leader of the British neo-conservatives

Having listened to William Hague's speech this morning on Britain's counter-terrorism policy, I can only conclude that he's become a fully paid up member of the neo-conservatives. I lost count of the number of times he mentioned democracy, human rights and the rule of law (there was a Q and A session after the speech, in which [...]

No, Mr President, the war against al-Qaeda is far from won

There are times, such as last night's State of the Union address, when I think President Barack Obama has taken leave of reality. How he can claim, when half the Arab world is being overrun by Islamist militants, that al-Qaeda is now a shadow of its former self is beyond comprehension. Is he forgetting that it [...]

North Korea's nuclear test will boost Iran

• Update: Since posting this blog earlier today I see the New York Times is reporting that Pyongyang could be conducting the tests of behalf of two countries – North Korea and Iran. As North Korea braces itself for another round of international condemnation in the wake of its latest nuclear test, the one country [...]

Britain's defence policy has become a Whitehall farce

Were it not for the fact that the implications are so serious, the bedroom farce that is this Government's defence policy would be one Whitehall production that was guaranteed a long run. It all started with my colleague James Kirkup's excellent story earlier this week that SAS units could face the axe if the Government presses [...]

Algeria doesn't need lectures from Dave on fighting terrorism

David Cameron can expect a frosty reception from his Algerian hosts today when he becomes the first British Prime Minister to visit the North African country since it gained independence in 1962. Mr Cameron's visit is in response to the al-Qaeda attack on the In Amenas gas complex earlier this month in which 68 people [...]

Winning the military campaign in Mali is the easy bit

By all accounts, France's military intervention to prevent al-Qaeda seizing control of Mali has been a great success. Within a week of the deployment of around 2,500 combat troops, the French have now taken the historic Malian city of Timbuktu without a single shot being fired. This is because, rather than stand and fight, the [...]

Is Iran's mystery nuclear explosion too good to be true?

What are we to make about reports from Israel that Iran's top secret Fordow nuclear facility has been hit by a massive underground explosion that has caused severe damage to the uranium enrichment programme and trapped 240 workers inside? Claims that the explosion happened last Monday - just as Israelis were digesting the results of [...]

Barack Obama has given up on the fight against al-Qaeda

Either Barack Obama is living in a fantasy world, or he really does believe that the decade-long war against Islamist terror is drawing to a close, as he claimed in his inaugural address yesterday. Either way his statement will only lend encouragement to al-Qaeda and other Islamist terror cells that America is running up the white [...]

David Cameron has created a new war on terror

It's all very well David Cameron bemoaning the fact that we are facing a new global threat from Islamist militants in North Africa, but he is conveniently overlooking the fact that he has helped to create it by his ill-judged decision to overthrow the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in the summer of 2011. [...]

Algerian hostage crisis is the price we pay for supporting the French Mali mission

When David Cameron agreed to provide the French with two of the RAF's massive C-17 transport aircraft last weekend for their military operation against Islamist militants in Mali, he would have had no inkling that it would result in a British oil worker being shot dead and many other hostages being taken in neighbouring Algeria. But [...]