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.
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Tag Archives: NATO
Staying the Distance in Afghanistan
Which ever way you look at it it’s been a perilously bad few months for NATO operations in Afghanistan. The Quran burning incident allied to video footage of US soldiers urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban fighters followed by … Continue reading
Posted in Afghanistan
Tagged Afghanistan, David Cameron, ISAF, NATO, President Karzai, President Obama, Taliban
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Managing Our Defence in an Age of Austerity
Tensions between politicians and the armed forces have once again spilled over into the public domain these last few weeks with the latter complaining once again that they are being asked to do more with less. Much of the existing ill … Continue reading
Posted in Defence
Tagged Britain's Role in the World, Defence, Euroopean Defence Spending, Libya, NATO, Robert Gates, Strategic Defence Review
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Time to Build Gaddafi a Golden Bridge?
If, like me, you think our military intervention in Libya is going horribly wrong politically, you might be interested in the following analysis from the International Crisis Group. The short report draws attention to the high risk political strategy that … Continue reading
Can we Learn to Live in Peace with Russia?
After a round of meetings in Poland yesterday with President Bronislaw Komorwski, the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, heads to Brussels today for the start of the EU-Russia Summit. Medvedev aims to secure EU approval of Moscow’s bid to join the … Continue reading
What Future NATO? – The Bishop of Wakefield Reflects on the NATO Summit
After my post last Thursday on the prospects for the forthcoming NATO summit in Lisbon, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten, the Bishop of Wakefield and the lead bishop on international security affairs, offers his own expert reflections on the subject. These … Continue reading
Posted in NATO
Tagged Bishop of Wakefield, Church of England, Georgia, Just War, NATO, Stephen Platten, Strategic Concept
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NATO Summit – Do we Need to Rethink our Understanding of Collective Self-Defence?
NATO leaders are currently meeting in Lisbon with the aim of agreeing a new Strategic Concept for the Alliance. The current Strategic Concept dates from 1999 and looks increasingly frayed round the edges. The best way to explain why NATO … Continue reading
Strategic Defence and Security Review – Part 3
This is the third in a series of posts exploring what the comprehensive spending review and the strategic defence and security review tells us about Britain’s future role in the world. This post reflects on the following question: Did the … Continue reading
Posted in Defence
Tagged Britain's Role in the World, Defence, NATO, Strategic Defence Review
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The Mid Term Elections – Obama’s Halloween?
Next Tuesday, 2 November, America goes to the polls. America won’t be electing a new President but the results of the mid-term elections to Congress and Senate will significantly shape the next two years of the Obama Administration. With Obama’s … Continue reading
Posted in American Foreign Policy
Tagged American Foreign Policy, Europe, Iran, Middle East, NATO, President Obama
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