Labour's week from hell

/

I have a feeling we'll be seeing that headline quite a few times over the next few months, but this week certainly qualified. I've written two pieces for Politico Europe – one on the march to war in Syria, the other on the Autumn Statement – trying to capture some of the chaos.

Yet it's not just the present that's haunting Labour – as I argued in this piece on Medium, it's the past, as well. I've written a review for CapX of 'Ken' by Andrew Hosken, exploring the connections between Corbyn and Livingstone – do check it out.

The deadly symbiosis between ISIS and Assad

/

This was first published on Medium in the wake of the attack on Paris.

The bomb attacks in Paris were sickening, outrageous, and horrifying. And one of the most sickening moments came when Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, decided to blame the deaths on French foreign policy. What Parisians were confronting, he said, was exactly what Syrians had faced the past five years. If only France had only helped him against the Islamists, rather than keeping its distance!

Obviously, the bulk of the blame for this week’s tragedy lies squarely on ISIS, and its doctrine of terror and atrocity. But the single individual most directly responsible for its rise, and its enduring strength, is Bashar al-Assad.

Not just because, by plunging Syria into civil war, he created the preconditions for it to flourish. But because he has done everything in his power to strengthen its hand. The truth is that Assad and ISIS are not enemies: they are allies.

Read More