Jonathan Steele

US’s Afghan war shambles laid bare

Grenier’s fascinating book 88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary shows just how close the Karzai-US relationship was. Updated 14 Jun, 2015 09:17am

Time for US to end rift with Iran

FRANCE’S scuppering of the carefully negotiated interim nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers was ... Published 13 Nov, 2013 06:57am

Syrians trapped by both sides ‘cry out for aid’

DAMASCUS: Struck by sarin gas in the notorious dawn attack last month, the people of Moadamiyeh have a second reason... Published 28 Sep, 2013 07:00am

Obama accused of ‘selling out’ to Russians

WASHINGTON/DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM: The White House scrambled to regain the political initiative over Syria yesterday,... Published 17 Sep, 2013 07:03am

Egyptians who idolise army will soon be disappointed

WHETHER the Egyptian army’s action against Mohamed Morsi amounts to a full-scale military coup can be debated. But... Published 05 Jul, 2013 08:40am

Iran has changed course; now US must do the same

Hassan Rowhani’s victory in the Iranian election is truly stunning. It opens a window of hope for an easing of... Published 18 Jun, 2013 08:29am

US is rogue state in nuclear standoff

BY coincidence two clashes over nuclear issues are hitting the headlines together. Published 11 Apr, 2013 05:05am

10 years of western folly has erased Afghan hope

KABUL: Clouds of uncertainty and foreboding hang over Kabul as heavily as the traffic pollution, which obscures its once stunning vista of surrounding mountains. Eleven years after the west's military Published 11 Dec, 2012 11:15pm

UN must compromise on Syria

LONDON: When the history of Syria's catastrophic civil war comes to be written, 30 June 2012 will surely be recognised as the only true moment of hope. On that day in Geneva the five permanent members of the UN Published 07 Aug, 2012 02:36am

Syria might need its own Mandela

LONDON: In the smoke-filled cafes of central Damascus, where young unarmed activists discuss the next protest against the Assad regime, the mood is one of determination and excitement. It takes huge courage to Published 20 Mar, 2012 09:47pm

Russia’s trouble is absence of law

RUSSIA and its power-hungry leader Vladimir Putin are still reeling. The results of last week`s parliamentary elections were a surprise Published 12 Dec, 2011 07:36pm

Obama failing in the Middle East

A YEAR ago in Cairo Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal for Arab goodwill and trust. Recognise I am a new type ... Published 12 Aug, 2010 12:00am

The ANC is failing poor blacks

JOHANNESBURG With the World Cup nearing, 2010 will be South Africa`s year. The self-proclaimed Rainbow Nation will... Published 01 Jan, 2010 12:00am

Nato`s failing mission

IT is déjà vu on a huge and bloody scale. Gen Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan, is about to... Published 02 Sep, 2009 12:00am

Controlling history

ON the dot of 7pm families and strangers took each other`s hands and stepped into the main road, some carrying ... Published 21 Aug, 2009 12:00am

Georgia: a frozen conflict, not a cold war

SO anxious was Georgia`s President Mikheil Saakashvili for support from the fledgling Obama administration that even... Published 05 Aug, 2009 12:00am

Skewed, secret Iraq inquiry is a scandal

LONDON The British prime minister Gordon Browns announcement of a secret inquiry into the run-up to and conduct of... Published 17 Jun, 2009 12:00am

Tigers` defeat and after

HISTORY is littered with the ruined reputations of national leaders who thought they had won a great military ... Published 20 May, 2009 12:00am

What Obama must tell Bibi

THE toughest meeting of Barack Obama`s young presidency is approaching. In the next few weeks, he will have to sit... Published 07 May, 2009 12:00am

Don`t blame election for Moldovan anger

LONDON Walking through Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, last month I was surprised by the minimal security outside... Published 14 Apr, 2009 12:00am