Iraq
Iran’s missile diplomacy
It’s a time for delivering messages in the Middle East, where messages rarely come without their near constant attendant: violence.…
Why the US assassination of Iran’s top general didn’t spark a war
Why the US assassination of Iran’s top general didn’t spark a war
Letters: We must sing again
Growing pains Sir: James Forsyth (‘Rewiring the state’, 4 July) shocked this loyal Spectator reader with the following: ‘Even before…
Letters: Why Hugh Dowding deserves a statue
Police relations Sir: As a former Met Police officer, with a similar background to Kevin Hurley, I was surprised how…
What is the US Navy doing in the Persian Gulf?
American alliances and security commitments tend to live on long after the world has changed. Many of our far flung…
Will coronavirus lead to a US war with Iran?
In a roundabout way, coronavirus may have been responsible for the deaths of two American service personnel and a British…
The Shia Krays: the whole of Iraq is being held to ransom
The whole of Iraq is being held to ransom
As prisons minister, I saw how bad things really are on the inside
What I saw as prisons minister
Philip Pullman is right about the Oxford comma
It was with regret that I read that Albert, retired King of the Belgians, has finally had to admit, following…
So much for de-escalation
‘We are not looking to start a war with Iran,’ said defense secretary Mark Esper today. ‘We are looking to…
Ten handy phrases for bluffing your way through the coming Iran crisis
That gathering drumbeat you hear could be the sound of World War III, or it could be 10,000 journalists still…
What could go wrong for Donald Trump in 2020?
What are the four things that can go blooey for President Trump in the next year? First, he can get…
The surrealism of war against Isis
The campaign against Isis was pretty big news for most of 2016. But by the time the final showdown got…
Vice vs vice: Cheney barbecues Pence in Georgia
It was no cakewalk for Vice President Mike Pence. He had showed up in Sea Island, Ga., reckoning that he…
Britain and its allies are opening the way for yet another Iraq war
After the most intensive street-by-street combat since 1945, Isis’s so-called caliphate is no more. Last weekend, the Iraqi government won…
The Kurds are on their own
The routing of Isis in northern Iraq ought to be a time of international celebration, but as ever in the…
Don’t forget the Yazidis
As the floodwaters subsided, the Ark drifted across northern Iraq. Finally, with a crunching jolt, it hit dry land. Its…
Hope in Mosul
For the title of world’s most benighted city, Mosul takes some beating. Liberated from Saddam Hussein by US forces in…
Portrait of the week: English lessons, civil partnerships, the price of oil
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that Muslim women must learn English, and that those who had entered on…
On Europe, Iraq and Syria why can’t our politicians just tell the truth?
It has been over a month since Parliament voted to bomb Isis in Syria, yet in that time there have…
The truth about Islamic State: it's in crisis
Disillusioned Islamic State recruits are deserting the bloodthirsty terror group as it loses territory
After Jeremy Corbyn’s Syria shambles, step forward Major Dan Jarvis . . . the new Labour-saving device
It makes no sense for Britain to bomb Islamic State in Iraq but not Syria. Attacking a group that does…
It is time to join the fight against IS in Syria
The Islamic State is as monstrous an enemy as we have seen in recent history. It crucifies and decapitates its…
The pretend war: why bombing Isil won't solve the problem
Britain, France and America are in a protracted fight against Islamic radicalism. Pity our leaders have no idea how to win it