3-4-3 three books for free.3-4-3

The debate(s) hot up

That ‘special relationship’:

So then, the Golfer in residence at the White House thinks that the UK did not pull its weight when it came to Libya, specifically post-removal of Gaddafi. Might I point out a couple of events that ‘The Cousins’ attempted to engineer whose results were less than impressive?

There was an unseemly haste to get out of Iraq. One could argue with justification that this left the country in a very unstable position, which greatly contributed to the rise of the power of IS.

There was an unseemly haste to get out of Afghanistan. This left the country in an unstable position, which greatly contributed to the re-emergence of the Taliban. The exit had to be modified. ‘Advisors’ remain in country. That’s how Vietnam got started for the USA.

The ‘GIR’ welcomed the fall of Mubarak, in Egypt. Democracy had triumphed–hooray!!. Except it hadn’t of course. President Morsi, the candidate of The Muslim Brotherhood, presided over a worsening of the security situation in the Sinai Peninsular. Extremist Jihadi groups based in Gaza launched almost weekly attacks against Egyptian troops. Morsi downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel, and his religious beliefs put the Egyptian economy–or at least tourism, a major component of the economy–at risk. He then decided give himself dictatorial powers as the Egyptian Parliament was unable to agree on a new constitution, and was removed from power by a coalition of concerned Egyptian citizens and the Army–Boo!! Although the internal situation hasn’t improved dramatically, due to the rise of IS in what used to be Syria and Iraq, it is on track to improve. The danger of a war with Israel has all but vanished, and formerly General, and now, President Sisi, has made constructive suggestions about how to deal with the Syrian crisis.

The ‘GIR’ intervened–for about five minutes and ineffectually–in Syria, when the civil war kicked off. Putin advised him not to get involved as it would inevitably make the situation worse. He didn’t listen, and indeed it did get worse. This persuaded Putin that the ‘GIR’ was a weak leader, and he (Putin) proceeded to annex the Crimea, slice off about a third of Ukraine, and finally to directly intervene in Syria when there was no effective action taken over Russian actions in Ukraine. I would argue that American ‘farting around’ in the Middle East has greatly contributed to the current migration crisis in the EU. It has not really advanced the ’cause’ of democracy, and has contributed to much human suffering and misery. It could be worse, Trump might actually win the election.

In or out?

The mud-slinging about should the UK remain in the EU is gradually subsiding, and a real debate shows signs of happening. Interestingly, at a lunch with four friends yesterday, one of us took a ‘straw poll’, and was horrified that four out of five were going to vote to remain in the EU. I think the general consensus was that the risks in leaving were too great to contemplate an exit. Granted there might be some advantages to be had in an exit, but it would be an enormous leap in the dark. Are we feeling lucky?

Literary matters:

TimTurpin FinishedThe Legend of tim Turpin has now been published in paperback, with full colour illustrations, which was what illustrator John and I had always envisaged.

UK readers can find it here

US readers can find it here

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