Daniel Korski

Last night, President Obama said he will be looking for “openings” in coming months that could lead to “face-to-face” talks with Tehran. “I think that there’s the possibility, at least, of a relationship of mutual respect and progress”. But despite Obama’s repeated offers of a new kind of relationship, Iran has usually responded with the

The appointment of the hard-charging Richard Holbrooke as Afghan envoy has not been universally welcomed. One person who is particularly concerned about it is Hamid Karzai, the current Afghan president, who will probably win re-election later this year. Their first, secret meeting was apparently quite frosty. What has really riled Karzai is Holbrooke’s fraternization with

The Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will step down at Nato’s 60th anniversary summit in early April. The former Dutch foreign minister has had some successes during his time in office but his tenure has been dominated by trans-Atlantic rifts, Nato’s struggling Afghan mission, and a failure to work more corporately with the EU.

When people are asked who their heroes are, you can expect to find someone like Nelson Mandela or Aung San Suu Kyi topping of the final tally. Indeed, two years ago, 150 MPs voted the anti-apartheid campaigner as their biggest political hero. But the name Shirin Ebadi is usually absent from the equation. Yet today,

Rahm Emanual, Obama’s chief of staff, says one should never let a serious crisis go to waste. So now that the Russians are once again blocking the supply of gas to Ukraine  – and, by extension, to Europe –Europe should act to protect itself. Russia remains the largest exporter of gas to the EU, with

Nick Clegg wants Britain to push the EU to end trade with Israel. In a Guardian article, the Lib Dem leader vies for the left-wing, anti-Iraq vote and argues that the EU “must immediately suspend the proposed new cooperation agreement with Israel until things change in Gaza.” If we overlook the article’s factually incorrect claim

Next year will be an election year. Though it now looks unlikely that Gordon Brown will call a general election, both local and European elections are scheduled for June 2009. These will undoubtedly be important, as a test of both how people feel about the government’s handling of the economic crisis and their views on

Everyone expected the Israeli government and Hamas to honour a ceasefire; at least until Barack Obama’s inauguration, to allow the new U.S president time to get his feet under the desk. Rumours had been going around that one of Obama’s first acts would be to convene an Annapolis-style Mid East conference. Not to achieve peace,

One of President Elect Obama’s key challenges in 2009 is going to be how to deal with captured terrorists. During the campaign, Obama pledged to close Gitmo. But the recent guilty-plea of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks means Obama will face a dilemma. By Inauguration Day, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and

In the midst of an emerging West/East struggle, a security issue has come unexpectedly to the fore that everyone can unite around: the safety of the sea lanes.   The growth of global commerce in the past two decades has crowded the oceans with cargo vessels and supertankers loaded with every good imaginable. The world

Last week I met with members of the 100-person team who are conducting a top-to-bottom assessment of Centcom’s area of responsibility on your behalf. I have to say I don’t envy them their task, or you your’s. The remit of your military operation, Central Command (Centcom) is expansive – ranging from Egypt to Pakistan –

The charge sheet against Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe is long and packed with crimes of both commission and omission. The World Food Program expects half the Zimbabwean population will soon need food aid. Official inflation was 231 million percent in July – the last time statistics were released. Unemployment is over 85 percent; poverty over 90

Everyone following developments in Afghanistan will know of the demand by military commanders on the ground for more international troops to be deployed. A former NATO commander said he needed at least 400,000 troops. Doctrinally, a 20:1,000 security force-to-population ratio is deemed necessary for counter-insurgency operations. That would mean putting at least 200,000 troops into

These days it can seem more popular to defend Morris dancing than free markets. In today’s recession-engulfed debate, failed ideas have come back from the dead. Capitalism is bad, intervention good. Financiers are evil, industrialists are good. Tax hikes are good, low-tax polices are bad. And so on. But if there is one person (beside

Today China cancelled the long-planned EU-China summit because French President Nicolas Sarkozy was planning to meet the Dalai Lama later in the year. Such short-sightedness serves no one. Though it appears to be shielded from the financial tumult, China will eventually be hurt by the current crisis. China needs 9-10% growth if it is to

Have you ever watched two people argue for a while, trying to make up your mind who you thought was right, only to realise both were arguing around the real issues? That is how I feel, having listened to the Government and Opposition on how to deal with the current crisis. Gordon Brown has made

Rarely has a summit been so hastily organised, hyped so much, yet achieved as little as last week’s G20 meeting called by President George W. Bush to deal with the world’s financial crisis. World leaders did agree on a confidence-boosting package of economic assistance, but put off sorting out any detailed plans on overhauling financial