Michael Burleigh

‘Western optimists like to assume North Korea is on the verge of implosion. But the hermit kingdom is not going to collapse any time soon’

‘Contrary to what Imran Khan has said, drone strikes are the best tactic available against al-Qaeda. Our government needs to spell that out’

‘Conditions in Greece are grim, as one can see from the elderly ladies silently begging for their family’s next meal’

‘Against the backdrop of disputes in the South China Sea, there are ominous reports that China is trying to close the 20-year gap between its navy and that of the US’

‘The Sahel states are facing starvation, as well as the obliteration of the delicate religious eco-system that enabled Sufism to survive’

‘Unlike some of their most senior spies, Bibi Netanjahu and Ehud Barak see an attack on Iran in terms of Israel’s survival as a Jewish state’

‘One solution to the unexpurgated second-hand versions of Mein Kampf available online is for the Bavarians to publish a scholarly edition’

‘Unlike Nazis shooting defenceless women and children into ditches, or herding them into purpose-built as chambers, RAF air crew faced the nightly risk of violent death’

‘The most concerning aspect of cyberwarfare is Russia and China’s enthusiasm for a UN international code of conduct that could be used to shut down Facebook and Twitter’

‘There is nothing odd in Obama’s desire for a more streamlined US military, a gambit Eisenhower, Kennedy and Reagan used to win the presidency too’