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WAR IN THE MODERN WORLD

Welcome to the website!

Most of the papers here are from my studies at King's College London in an online "programme" for mid-career British Army officers called War in the Modern World. About half were indeed British Army, including a captain who deployed to Afghanistan midway through the four years. (Alas, upon his return he dropped out of the course, left the army, and began to study law instead.) The rest of us were from other militaries or civilian life, from a Danish pilot to an assistant to the prime minister of Singapore. I learned a great deal, and these web pages are to share it more broadly.

But first, my thoughts over the past few weeks:

May 10: The Pleasure of Having a Comedian for President

Before he was elected president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky was a comedian who portrayed the president on a popular television program, "Servant of the People." When his film company became a political party in 2019 -- five years after Putin's "little green men" had seized Crimea and launched a low-level war in eastern Ukraine -- he was elected for real with 73 percent of the vote. He was himself from a Russian-speaking Jewish family, but in February 2022 he became the 21st century version of Winston Churchill, standing tall and eloquent in combat fatigues against the 21st century version of Adolf Hitler.

But he hasn't lost the comedian's touch. On May 8 (the actual date that Hitler's Germany surrendered to the Allies) Zelensky issued the following proclamation:

"I hereby decree: 1. To authorize the holding of a parade in Moscow (Russian Federation) on May 9, 2026."

We Americans have something of a comic in the White House, but he never seems actually to be having fun with the job.

May 7: Victory Day is Near, and Putin is Worried

Yaroslav Trofimov in the Wall Street Journal and Jim Geraghty in National Review have remarkably similar stories this morning about a nervous Vladimir Putin as his favorite day in the year approaches: May 9, Victory Day, when Soviet Russia supposedly defeated "the Nazis." In fact, Germany surrendered to the Allies on May 8, but Stalin demanded that they send a delegation to Moscow the following day, to surrender to him personally. That's how Russian history gets written, or rewritten.

May 1: A Jew-hater in the state of Maine

No Jews have had their throats cut at Kennebunkport, but it's probably just a matter of time. Maine's Democratic governor has dropped her bid for the US Senate nomination, so the coast is clear for the Man With the Nazi Tattoo to become the nominee. Indeed, Chuck Schumer -- himself a Jew! -- has pledged millions of dollars to support the Jew-hater in the November contest against the decent and moderate Susan Collins. I plan to send her a thousand dollars and I hope some of you will do the same.

April 30: From Bondi Beach to Golders Green

Two "visibly Jewish" men were stabbed yesterday in Golders Green in north London. The attacker was a Somali immigrant, apparently recruited by an Iranian program that targets Brits to do Iran's dirty work.

Golder's Green! If there ever was a prettier name for a suburb, it cab only be rivaled by Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, where 15 people were murdered in a first-day-of-Hanukkah celebration last year. The victims were mostly Jews, including several rabbis and an elderly Holocaust survivor. The "alleged gunmen" were a Muslim immigrant from India and his Australian-born son. No word on how they were recruited.

Not entirely unrelated, "Mohammed" (variously spelled) was the most popular name for male newborns in England and Wales last year.

April 29: King Charles Tiptoes Into the Breech

Well, Charles III's address to Congress was a bit short of what Winston Churchill would have achieved, but perhaps it was right-sized, reflecting Britain's much-diminished role in Europe and the world. (His country today, including reserves and Gurkha mercenaries, can muster about half the number of British soldiers who were rescued from Dunkirk in the spring of 1940.)

The king wisely pointed out that the only time NATO's common-defense article has been exercised was to support the US after 9/ll: 457 Brits died in Afghanistan, along with 159 Canadians, 90 Frenchmen, 63 Germans, 53 Italians, 44 Poles, 44 Danes, 41 Australians, and troops from 23 other nations. "Today," he added, "... that same unyielding resolve is needed for the defense of Ukraine and her most courageous people."

We keep hearing that President Trump has a curious affection for the British royal family, including King Charles. Let's hope that the king's visit will remind him that we too have a stake in supporting Ukraine against its monstrous invader.

April 24: The Warmth of Trump's Collectivism

We are fast becoming Leninism 2.0, what with Mayor Mamdami promising a $30 million dollar city-owned supermarket in East Harlem, not far from a capitalist Aldi store that probably cost about $10 million. How will that work out? (The Babylon Bee suggests that, if you need a loaf of bread, you'd better get in line right now.)

Meanwhile, in DC, President Trump is thinking of buying Spirit Airlines. What could possibly go wrong with a federally-owned budget carrier? Not to worry! Unlike New York's Bolshevik mayor, our president doesn't plan to run Spirit for the long run. "We'd be getting it virtually debt free," he explains. "They have some good aircraft, some good assets, and when the price of oil goes down, we'll sell it for a profit."

When Lenin eased off on the Bolshevism, he called it the New Economic Program, and the NEP actually worked for a time. Then came the warmth of Stalin: if you didn't work, you didn't eat, and the workers didn't eat much because the shelves were usually empty. Let's hope the price of oil comes down soon!

April 12: Hungary is back in Europe

Victor Orban was trounced today by a guy name Magyar, which is kind of neat because "magyar" means -- Hungarian. Not only that, but his party, founded just a couple years ago, seems to have won two-thirds of the seats in parliament. Since Hungary is still a democracy, despite 16 years of Orban's rule and his sly changes to the government, Prime Minister Magyar should be able to do just about anything he wants. Let's hope that means distancing himself and his country from Moscow, warming up to Ukraine next door, and quit taking advantage of the EU's and NATO's effective veto, which Orban has been using on Putin's behalf.

April 11: A one-sided cease-fire

What's a cease-fire when only one side ceases fire, and how does it differ from a surrender?

April 9: A cease-fire is not a victory

Messrs Trump and Hegseth will no doubt spin it as a dazzling victory, but I'm sure the New York Times and CNN will not, and the mullahs in Tehran have their own spin upon the events of Tuesday. Note that "enrichment" means purifying uranium to the state where it can be made into nuclear bombs. I've boldfaced that and a few other notable claims:

"Iran has achieved a great victory and forced the criminal United States to accept its ten-point plan.

"In this plan, the United States has, in principle, committed to non-aggression; the continuation of Iran s control over the Strait of Hormuz; acceptance of enrichment; the lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions; the termination of all United Nations Security Council and Board of Governors resolutions; compensation to Iran; the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region; and the cessation of war on all fronts, including against the heroic Islamic resistance in Lebanon. We congratulate all the people of Iran on this victory and emphasize that until the details of this victory are finalized, continued resilience and prudence by officials, and the preservation of unity and solidarity among the Iranian people, remain necessary."

The essays (in more or less chronological order)