Archive d'auteurs: Peter Jones

The recent 10 year anniversary of the Iraq war brought forth a flood of retrospective analyses, many dedicated to answering the vexed question of whether it was worth it. In reading them, one is struck by the arguments of those who remain wedded to the ideological arguments made at the time, many of whom were part of the administration of George W. Bush. The mos… Read More

Published in the Globe and Mail, February 18, 2013 Among the many reasons why Iran should not acquire nuclear weapons (a sentiment with which any reasonable person must agree), one hears the argument that it would initiate a cascade of proliferation across the Middle East. First Saudi Arabia, then Turkey, then Egypt, then God knows who would inevitably acq… Read More

Iran’s nuclear program continues to generate much heat and light on the global stage.  While the Iranian nuclear challenge is a serious matter, much of the commentary on the degree and immediacy of its dangers is overblown. These are the conclusions of two Iran specialists–Alexander Holstein of Geopoliticalmonitor.com and myself–in a dia… Read More

The Israeli election was that rarest of things: a real surprise. We had been assured for weeks that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition would make gains. But the big winner was the political centre. Why were we so surprised? Perhaps one of the reasons is that we have become accustomed to seeing Israeli politics in terms of security. The question… Read More

Published in The Hindu, January 5, 2013 A controversy erupted recently over Track Two discussions regarding the Siachen issue. “Track Two Diplomacy” is a term with which much mythology is associated. Some proponents believe that it can cut through the red tape of conventional diplomacy and resolve intractable problems. Critics argue that it is both a use… Read More

Published in the Globe and Mail, December 28, 2012 A year ago, after noting that making predictions about the Middle East is a foolish endeavour, I made a series of predictions about what might happen there in 2012. To my amazement, most of them held up reasonably well. For those interested in grading them, my 2012 predictions can be found here. A sensible pers… Read More

Publié dans le Ottawa Citizen, 25 novembre 2012 Iran was an issue in the U.S. election. Now that he has won, President Barack Obama has to decide what to do about it. There are no good options. Beyond the rhetoric over the need for a rapid attack, much of it coming, until recently, from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his friends, the U.S. intellig… Read More

Publié dans le Globe and Mail, 19 novembre 2012 Slowly, painfully, fitfully, the new Middle East is emerging. Egypt is key to this, both in terms of its internal evolution and its response to regional events, such as the fighting in Gaza. Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has many balls to juggle. His political base is Islamist, anti-Israel and anti-U.S. But C… Read More

The fracas over opinionated letters sent by Prince Charles to various British politicians and senior officials has broken out of the courts and into politics. The letters, which are understood to be frank in their advice on various subjects dear to the Prince’s heart, have been so frequent over the years that they have a nickname within UK government circle… Read More