Afghanistan
While we weren't looking, the Taleban surged back in Afghanistan
So many lives lost, a trillion dollars spent, yet the Taleban is resurgent
Islamic State is making its threats a reality
Isis could be on the brink of creating a terrifying new world order
Iran’s hidden war with the West – and what we can do to fight back
It’s up to Britain to ensure that the nuclear dealdoes not allow a greater threat to the Middle East
Why the Middle East needs more kings
What the Middle East needs is more constitutional monarchies
Niall Ferguson's biography of Henry Kissinger is a masterpiece
I have met Dr Kissinger, properly, only three times. First, in Cairo, in 1980, when, as a junior diplomat escorting…
The way we treat our heroes is a disgrace
Matthew Green, former Financial Times and Reuters correspondent, remains unimpressed by officialdom’s response to casualties who aren’t actually bleeding: Ever…
As the Hindenburg burned, you could hear radio news being born
It’s really hard to imagine now a world before 24-hour news, continually and constantly accessible in a never-ending stream of…
Portrait of the week
Home Tom Hayes, aged 35, a former City trader who rigged the Libor rates daily for nearly four years while…
Ali Baba and the 300 hostages: the kidnappers who prey on desperate migrants in Europe’s border badlands
The kidnappers who prey on desperate migrants in Greece’s border badlands
My dirty secret: I don’t care either way about state surveillance
The Snoopers’ Charter. I ought to care about this. I’m a sort of libertarian. I believe in personal freedom. I’m…
Was Genghis Khan the cruellest man who ever lived?
From the unpromising and desperately unforgiving background that forged his iron will and boundless ambition, Temujin (as Genghis Khan was…
The dark side of Delhi
When Sara discovers that her husband died in India, rather than being killed in Afghanistan as she was told, she…
Mercenaries could transform the fight against Isis – if we let them
Private military contractors have done wonders against Boko Haram. They could against Isis, too
Lesley Blanch: a true original on the wilder shores of exoticism
Lesley Blanch (1904–2007) will be remembered chiefly for her gloriously extravagant The Wilder Shores of Love, the story of four…
The Cricket World Cup needs minnows
Graeme Swann arrived late for the last cricket World Cup. His wife had given birth before the tournament and he…
A major-general names the guilty men
The author of this primer to the long-overdue Chilcot report, a retired sapper (Royal Engineers) major-general, nails his colours to…
I guarded Rudolf Hess
I had the misfortune to meet Lord Richards on probably the darkest day of his 42 years in the military.…
Portrait of the week
Home The last British combat troops turned over Camp Bastion in Helmand to Afghan forces and withdrew from Afghanistan after…
Rochester’s special qualities, and the price of Ebola.com
What’s special about Rochester What is special about Rochester and Strood? — Rochester has the second oldest cathedral and school…
Does Jonathan Powell really want to negotiate with the Islamic State?
Jonathan Powell’s stance on negotiating with violent extremists is consistently inconsistent and slippery
The US military should be winning wars, not fighting Ebola
In the case of America, the answer is now practically everything – except perhaps winning wars
Ali risked his life to escape Afghanistan — and now teaches Britons how to survive there
‘Brown is very good — no Cameron. David Cameron no good,’ he said. Just in case we weren’t sure what…
Ahmed Rashid: The five things that must go right for Afghanistan to prosper
All bets are off when the US troops pull out
Soldiers aren't social workers, Mr Cameron. Remember that before taking on hopeless wars
The ghost people, the letter people. The ones we hear about in court but never call by their real name;…
The one good thing we're leaving in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s new, British-led military academy may prove our most lasting legacy
