In the past few days, there have been two surprising demonstrations of the limits of military power. The US chiefs-of-staff have warned the Bush administration against rushing into
Two weeks ago, an article in this series attempted to analyse the military situation in Afghanistan, an exercise made more difficult by the paucity of reliable information available. Even so,
Prior to the 11 September attacks last year, there was a widespread perception in Europe that the Republican administration of George W. Bush was demonstrating a pronounced unilateralist stance on
In the past four weeks, two military operations involving British Marines have been undertaken in Eastern Afghanistan. Code-named Ptarmigan and Snipe, they have been part of a much more
Twenty years ago, on 2 May 1982, the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano was sunk in a torpedo attack by the British submarine HMS Conqueror with the loss of three hundred
Colin Powell returned to Washington last week having made virtually no progress during his convoluted travels across North Africa, Europe and the Middle East. President Bushs call for an
US Secretary of State Colin Powells efforts to restrain Sharon have so far achieved no more than a tentative plan for a regional peace conference. Two suicide bombings and
As the Israeli military attacks on the West Bank continue, their full aim is becoming apparent. It fits in closely with Ariel Sharons longer-term policies, has little to
As Tony Blair prepares for his meeting with George Bush, the war in Afghanistan remains unresolved and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict worsens. Even so, the Bush administration remains intent on
Operation Anaconda was fought over two weeks in mountains near the Afghan town of Gardez. The effects of the battle are fundamentally disputed between the Pentagon and Islamic news agencies.
What has surprised most people is the apparent US willingness to consider using nuclear weapons first, and using them on a small scale.
In this update, I will deal with the tremendous escalation of the Israel/Palestine conflict, and the regrouping of the Taliban. A number of recent aspects of both the Middle
