IS
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…
Dark night of the soul
As bombs fall everywhere in Syria and IS fighters destroy Palmyra, a musicologist in Vienna lies awake all night thinking…
What do all these evil maniacs have in common?
More bad publicity for the Islamic State’s ‘Kafir Tiny Tots and Babycare Service’. A burka-clad madwoman wandering through the streets…
The mercenaries of IS and ancient Greece
Last week we read that Isis was crumbling, but still a force to be reckoned with. That is true, but…
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…
What Muslims think
Polls suggesting that they sympathise with terrorists are misleading
Words on war
It’s really hard to imagine now a world before 24-hour news, continually and constantly accessible in a never-ending stream of…
Raging towards utopia
The Sykes-Picot agreement will be 100 years old next year, but there will be no congratulatory telegrams winging their way…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, visited New York for talks at the United Nations; he said Britain supported the…
We always end up talking to terrorists, one way or another
It is a horrible thing to say, but I suspect that sooner or later we will begin to get irritated…
Can brutalised jihadis be saved?
Could you ever torture someone? Could you, under different circumstances, in a different world (I hope) than the one which…
Forewarned is forearmed
President Obama was assailed for saying that the USA had no strategy on combating Isis. Vegetius (late 4th century AD), the…
To catch a killer
Politicians’ promises to bring those who murder British hostages to justice almost never come true
