Category Archives: Middle East

Lines in the sand in Syria

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

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 →

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Syria in the shadow of Iraq

Posted on March 15, 2013 by

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 →

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The wisdom and science of a holy education

Posted on January 17, 2013 by

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 →

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Syria’s Refugees – A Jordanian Perspective

Posted on January 17, 2013 by

This is the second 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 that my reflections could only be … Continue reading →

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Co-ordination in the Holy Land

Posted on January 15, 2013 by

This is the first in a series of blogs documenting a week long visit to the Holy Land with the Vatican’s Holy Land Co-ordination Group, 4-10 January 2013. Poor internet connections throughout the trip meant that my reflections could only … Continue reading →

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Thou Shall Fear Salafis

Posted on September 14, 2012 by

It is all too easy when watching the wave of protests spreading through the Middle East over an online video that insulted the Prophet Mohammed to conclude that the newly won freedoms of the Arab Spring are somehow in deep … Continue reading →

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Prospects for Peace in Syria

Posted on September 5, 2012 by

What are the prospects for peace in Syria? Is there a non-violent way out of this crisis? These might appear daft questions to ask when the conflict is spiralling so destructively out of control. But, it is precisely because the … Continue reading →

Posted in British Foreign Policy, Defence, Middle East | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Syria and the Ethics of Intervention

Posted on September 3, 2012 by

When is an intervention not an intervention? In the case of Syria it is when it is done covertly. In many ways the public and political debate as to whether we should or shouldn’t intervene militarily in Syria is largely … Continue reading →

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Being Foreign Secretary for the day – preventing another Houla?

Posted on June 1, 2012 by

Our response to the grotesque massacre in Houla, Syria, suggests a despairing awareness that short of military intervention, which no one wants, there is little we can do to resolve the emerging sectarian civil war. My own view is that while an … Continue reading →

Posted in British Foreign Policy, Ecumenism, Middle East | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Modernity and its futures?

Posted on April 20, 2012 by

Trawl the shelves of any respectable bookshop today and you will find a growing body of literature expounding the now well trodden thesis that China’s rise inevitably means the West’s demise. To be fair scholars have been exploring this possibility for … Continue reading →

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