About this blog
Welcome to my blog - I'm Charles Reed and I advise the Church of England on foreign policy issues.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention.
This is a conversational blog so please join in as your comments are an essential part of making the whole thing work.
My Books
Author Archives: foreignpolicy1
Westminster: A Small Village in London
I’ve just finished reading John Le Carre’s entertaining spy thriller, A Small Town in Germany. This story takes place in Bonn in the 1960s and concerns the joyless workings of the British Consulate at a time when Britain was desperately … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Uncategorized
Tagged EU Referendum, Europe, Eurosceptism, UK/EU Relations
2 Comments
Lines in the sand in Syria
Just when you thought that things couldn’t get worse in Syria, credible evidence surfaces indicating that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons against its own citizens. With President Obama having previously stated that their use would be a game … Continue reading
Posted in Middle East
Tagged President Assad, President Obama, Red Lines, Sarin, Syria, Syrian National Council, WMD
3 Comments
When aid works and why
In my last blog, We CAN end poverty by 2015, I wrote about the G8 religious leader’s letter that appeared in the Financial Times to mark the 1000 day count down to the Millennium Development Goals. This letter was picked … Continue reading
We CAN end poverty by 2015
Today 80 religious leaders from around the G8, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, have marked the 1000 day count down to the Millennium Development Goals. In a letter to the Financial Times , that is reproduced on the Lambeth Palace … Continue reading
Posted in Development
Tagged #1000DaysToGo, Archbishop of Canterbury, Financial Times, MDGs, Millennium Development Goals
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Syria in the shadow of Iraq
After two years of a bloody civil war in Syria the frustration in finding a diplomatic solution is seeing a number of governments openly talking about arming the more moderate elements of the Syrian opposition. With over 70,000 deaths to … Continue reading
Posted in Middle East
Tagged Jihad, Libya, Middle East, Syria, syrian opposition, UNICEF
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I’ve Got Georgia on My Mind
For the last few weeks I’ve had Georgia on my mind – not the 1930 song by Hoag Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell made famous by Ray Charles in 1960, but the sovereign county in the Caucuses that is located at … Continue reading
Posted in Georgia, Georgia
Tagged Georgia, Georgian Orthodox Church, Ivanishvili, Russia, Saakashvili
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NGOs Go Ballistic in Defence of Aid
David Cameron’s suggestion at a press conference in Amritsar that the UK aid budget could in the future be more clearly focused on helping to deliver security and stability has provoked a ballistic reaction from development NGOs worried that money … Continue reading
Posted in Development
Tagged conflict and security, David Cameron, development and economics, O.7%
2 Comments
The Ethics of Contemporary Warfare
It has been well over a month since I last posted something. Apologies for that. For some reason once you fall out of the habit of blogging, the empty page looks increasingly threatening such that one becomes uncertain of ever … Continue reading
The wisdom and science of a holy education
This is the third in a series of blogs recording a week-long visit to the Holy Land with the Vatican’s Holy Land Coordination Group, 4-10th January 2013. Poor internet connections throughout the trip meant my reflections could only be posted … Continue reading
Posted in Middle East
Tagged American University of Madaba, CBCEW, Education, Jordan, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
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