Author: Simon Tisdall
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Trump’s Gaza power-trip tells us this: he is just another coward denying the need for a Palestinian state | Simon Tisdall
It’s easy to mistake sheer ignorance for brilliance. Seeming empathy conceals unfeeling stupidity. In demanding the permanent emptying of Gaza and the forcible resettlement of Palestinian civilians on a wholly imaginary “good, fresh, beautiful piece of land”, Donald Trump tried to break the mould. Instead, he broke hearts – and the US’s word. His so-called…
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The world at war: the flashpoints that the west ignores
The world is becoming a more dangerous place. It’s an often-heard sentiment these days, but is it really true? Historical comparisons are of limited help. Last week’s 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered by the Nazis between 1940 and 1945, offered a grim…
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Cocksure Kim Jong-un is raising the nuclear stakes. Is it time for South Korea to follow suit?
So-called frozen conflicts can suddenly turn hot without warning. Look at Ukraine, Syria or Armenia-Azerbaijan. Might Korea be next? For almost three-quarters of a century, an armistice – not a peace treaty – has prevented old foes North Korea and South Korea tearing each other apart. Their respective backers, China and the US, underwrote a…
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Menaced by foreign foes, facing mutiny at home: how long before Iran goes nuclear?
Choices, choices. In life, there’s always a choice, or so that complacent saying goes. It didn’t really hold true for the people of Syria, bound and gagged by tyranny for half a century. Yet finally, after infinite pain, they chose freedom. Now the Middle East spotlight shifts to other victims of state oppression. Who’s next…
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Assad’s murderous regime has been toppled – but what will fill the vacuum in Syria?
For once, use of the word “historic” is justified in describing the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime after more than 50 years of brutal dictatorship, 13 years of on-off civil war and a world of suffering. The people of Syria, or most of them at least, are jubilant. They should enjoy the moment. They deserve…
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The Ukraine missile crisis: Putin’s shadow war against the west finally breaks cover
The unprecedented firing by Ukrainian forces of British-made long-range Storm Shadow missiles at military targets inside Russia last week means the UK, along with the US, is now viewed by Moscow as a legitimate target for punitive, possibly violent retaliation. In a significant escalation in response to the missile launches, Vladimir Putin confirmed that, for…
