Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Alastair Sloan
-
Would the West fight a world war to save Syria?
The question of whether the most likely Western trio of Syria interventionists – Britain, America and France — should indeed intervene, comes down to a very simple question. Would the West fight a world war with Russia to save Syria? Make no mistake, Vladimir Putin is a very, very dangerous...
-
With Gove now on the backbenches, the pro-Israel lobby isn’t getting value for money
The Henry Jackson Society is a neoconservative London-based think tank set up in the wake of the July 2005 London bombings. Earlier this year it contributed towards the expenses for former Justice Secretary Michael Gove and his family to attend pro-Israel events in the United States. On a trip...
-
There is still no real reconstruction plan for Syria
One of the many good reasons not to get involved in Syria is that it is clear that those voices baying for Western intervention have taken no heed of criticisms that in Iraq, the post-conflict planning was, grimly, lacking. There were documents drawn up – if you get a...
-
Bahrain really isn’t making ‘progress’ on human rights
Earlier this year Bahrain finally made it onto the “Priority Countries” list compiled by Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) human rights project. The island state had managed to dodge inclusion in previous years, leading to strong criticism from MPs and activists who suspected — probably correctly — that...
-
The strange appointment that indicates there’s little change in Britain’s policy on Israel
The appointment of Conservative MP Sir Alan Duncan as a Foreign Office minister was largely overlooked when Theresa May formed her new government recently. Duncan will be responsible for the USA and Europe (post-Brexit), an important role but no doubt a disappointment to him. A more logical option would...
-
Why didn't Netanyahu apologise to Arab-Israelis in Arabic?
Benjamin Netanyahu has apologised for making anti-Arab remarks in last year’s General Election, and encouraged Arab-Israelis to feel more a part of Israeli society. “Israel is strong because of our diversity and pluralism,” Netanyahu told his Twitter followers via a pre-recorded video clip, “not in spite of it. Over...
-
Theresa May must ditch the nonsense of ‘British values’ to tackle radicalisation
Britain’s new Prime Minister, Theresa May, was in office for just one day when her first major international crisis hit. The Bastille Day attack in Nice was at first a diplomatic issue requiring the government to reach out to the people of France when relations have been chilled by...
-
Do Blairites realise they are cheering the success of Iran?
Tehran had two enemies in 2003: Saddam Hussein to the west and the Taliban in Afghanistan to the east. Both were taken out by the West, without Iran having to lift a finger....
-
Does Michael Gove really think that British Jews should emigrate, but not to Israel?
It was perhaps the most over-looked and important speech in recent British political history, and it was delivered in the United States, not Britain. The speech was given in March 2016. It was not reported at all in the British press, even though it involved both media magnate Rupert...
-
Will Murdoch’s new media outlet bow to UAE’s censorship rules?
Have you heard of Vice Media? Rupert Murdoch has – in 2013 he called the internet and print publishing upstart a “wild interesting effort to interest millennials” and a “global success.” Not long after, he bought a five per cent stake in what is known as the “hipsters bible”, and his son, James, now...
-
Israel could be in breach of a major EU trade agreement
Israel could be in breach of a major trade and human rights agreement connecting Tel Aviv with Europe, and the British government doesn’t seem to care. This is unsurprising. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be waving the Israeli flag over every city, town, village and hamlet in the West...
-
Why celebrate the Balfour Declaration when the Israelis celebrate the killing of British citizens?
Even in the original draft wording of the Balfour Declaration, the Palestinian people were an after-thought. Lord Rothschild’s first offering was sent to the British government on 18 July 1917; it proposed that Britain would “accept the principle that Palestine should be reconstituted as the national home for the...
-
Bahrain is perfecting the art of repression, and Britain is happy to help
On the last day of May, Bahrain released a pro-democracy activist from prison; Zainab Al-Khawaja had been in custody since March. Her “crime” was to rip up a picture of the Gulf State’s King Hamad Al-Khalifa. We can forgive her for being angry. Her father is serving a life sentence...
-
Why do Israeli peacebuilding organisations get six times the money Palestinians receive?
The fact that the British government considers a centre for peace named after an alleged Israeli war criminal worthy of investment is baffling...
-
Government cuts to mental health care make us all less safe from lone wolves
Back in 2013, a professor in sociology at Boston University found herself pontificating with considerable intellectualism. “What we have here,” wrote Liah Greenfeld, “is young people suffering from a profound psychological malaise.” She made her comment shortly after the twin horrors of the Boston Marathon bombing and the beheading...
-
A parliamentary junket to the UAE may paint a thousand words, but the cracks are showing
Review the lists of MPs who are taken on expensive parliamentary jaunts abroad and you will find relatively few names you know; they are more likely to come from the new intake, young guns looking for sponsors and exotic, all expenses paid excitement. Step forward the Israelis, Pakistanis, Japanese...
-
Westminster, not just Labour, is becoming racist
Watching Britain’s main opposition Labour Party in the past month has been like observing a game of skittles. Another week, another member kicked out or suspended for anti-Semitic and other offensive remarks. A Labour activist turned up on the BBC talking about the “Jewish question”. A key aide to...
-
Is a Conservative MP working for a backer of the 9/11 attacks?
When French citizen and 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui told families of his victims in February last year that Saudi Arabian government officials had been involved in the infamous attacks, it barely caused a ripple in the British media. In an improvised court room inside the maximum security prison where...
-
Meet the Conservative MP on the Saudi payroll
Imagine if a Conservative MP was on the payroll of the Saudi royal family. By payroll, I mean receiving a monthly salary paid into their bank account. Imagine if that MP was asking for British airmen to risk their lives defending Saudi ground troops. Imagine if that MP was...
-
Trevor Phillips is being impractical, immoral and short-sighted regarding British Muslims
Trevor Phillips’ film for Britain’s Channel 4television, “What do British Muslims really think?” was aired on Wednesday night. Muslims are “living apart,” we were told, and failing to “integrate.” The survey claimed to be the most comprehensive yet of Muslim opinion, although it lacked a control group against Hindus,...
-
The Yeah-but-Iran brigade have ruined America
He might have been more famous for Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Hook, or Mrs Doubtfire but for me, the best film Robin Williams ever made was Man of the Year. Like all the best films, it received overwhelmingly negative reviews and made almost no money. It tells...
-
Israel doesn't cause antisemitism, but double standards do
Is calling for the destruction of a state an expression of xenophobia, racism or bigotry? It might be radical, but it’s not anything more than that. Take anarchists, for example; they call for the destruction of states all the time. So too do those in Brussels who want a...
-
Vindictive business partners or employers can get you sent to prison in the UAE
Last week, Human Rights Watch issued a press release with a comment from Joe Stork, the organisation’s esteemed Deputy Middle East Director. “If UAE businessmen can have their partners locked up when they don’t like the tone of their tweets,” he wrote, “one has to question whether the UAE...
-
War with Turkey would not be in Russia’s interests, but it would suit Putin
Autocratic and erratic President Vladimir Putin is stronger than ever, more popular than ever and more dangerous than ever. For years, Western newspapers have run pieces questioning the validity of the polls which show how popular the former KGB officer and mayor of St Petersburg really is. How could...