Con Coughlin's Blog, page 20

Will Egypt become the new Iran?

Having argued consistently for the past year that the so-called Arab Spring would bring nothing but misery and disappointment, I take no great comfort from the outcome of Egypt's presidential elections. Far from providing the country with the type of Western-style, secular and democratic system of government the protesters in Tahrir Square demanded, all that [...]

Britain fires first shot for military intervention in Syria

The British government's dramatic intervention to prevent Russia delivering attack helicopters to Syria represents a serious escalation in the West's involvement in the Syrian crisis. By freezing the insurance cover of the MV Alaed, a Russian cargo ship, that was carrying a consignment of  Mi25 attack helicopters to Syria, Britain is making its own form of [...]

The golden age of the Army is well and truly over

It was not that long that senior officers were telling me that, with ten years of continuous operational duty, this was a golden age for the Army. Rather than spending their careers on patrol amid the dreary steeples of Fermanagh or in endless exercises on the north German plain, our soldiers have been involved in some of [...]

The UN needs a plan B for Syria

It is, I suppose, stating the obvious, but former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's peace plan for Syria has failed. The appalling events at Houla last week, which UN officials have now confirmed was the work of government forces, shows that the Assad regime has no interest in giving up on its genocidal assault on its [...]

This is not an exit strategy for Afghanistan, it's a surrender strategy

President Barack Obama believes the Afghan war "as we know it" will be over in two years when combat operations are ended. If he really believes that then he is living in cloud cuckoo land. We all know that Mr Obama and David Cameron have lost interest in the Afghan campaign. It's too costly, and there are no [...]

Hammond's carrier decision makes nonsense of scrapping the Harriers

Philip Hammond's much-leaked U-turn on which aircraft will fly from the new generation of Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers makes a nonsense of the Government's decision to scrap Ark Royal and the Harriers as part of the ill-informed Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010. One of the main arguments advanced by Dr Liam Fox, the then [...]

Israel mustn't forget Iran is committed to its destruction

One of the great strengths of the Israeli state, which sets it apart from all its neighbours in the Middle East, is its vibrant democracy, which is far more likely to hold its politicians to account than outside critics who have no idea about the complexities of the country's internal debate. The recent criticism of [...]

Whatever Ahmadinejad says, sanctions are hurting ordinary Iranians

So much for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claims that the sanctions are not hurting Iran. On the contrary, the sanctions are having a very dramatic impact on the lives of ordinary Iranians, as the Iranian president discovered to his cost when he made a routine visit to the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. As [...]

Thank goodness Nick Clegg isn't in charge of national security

Nick Clegg has just given yet another example of why he and his woolly-minded Liberal Democrats should never be allowed to govern this country. As Deputy Prime Minister, one of Mr Clegg's fundamental obligations is to make sure this country is safe from the malign intentions of our enemies. But by allowing his liberal principles [...]

We must never forget the sacrifice made by those who died fighting for the Falklands

Today's anniversary of the start of the Falklands conflict is a moment when we both reflect on the sacrifices made by the 255 members of the Armed Forces who lost their lives fighting to liberate the islands from a brutal Argentine dictator, and also consider how we can ensure there is no repetition of this [...]