20th May 2012 Washington DC, USA
The following is a guest post by Neil Holland, First Secretary, Foreign and Security Policy Group at the British Embassy in Washington. Last time I visited Chicago I was struck by three things. First how much fun it was. Blues, good food and drink, and history. That pretty much checks all the main boxes for me. […]
19th May 2012 Washington DC, USA
The road from the previous NATO Summit in Lisbon to Chicago has had some bumps, but what the NATO/ISAF Alliance will focus on this weekend is the degree to which we have stuck the course and remained committed to Afghanistan’s future. At Lisbon, NATO and ISAF allies agreed that we would remain in a combat […]
10th May 2012 Washington DC, USA
At this month’s NATO summit in Chicago, the UK, US and our allies will have a hard look at how we are equipped to confront threats in the twenty-first century. Recent NATO missions have shown the benefit of modern capabilities and Smart Defence. Unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles and smart munitions were crucial to the […]
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23rd April 2012 Washington DC, USA
At the 18 April meeting of the NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers in Brussels, the British Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond announced a firm UK commitment to help fund the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) after 2014. He said “The UK contribution of £70m per annum to the funds to support the Afghan National Security Forces will make […]
2nd April 2012 Washington DC, USA
I recommend you take a look at the latest blog written by Helmand’s new Head of Mission, Catriona Laing, on the recent DCC elections in Sangin. Famous for its dangerous past where many British and American soldiers lost their lives, Sangin now boasts its first ever District Community Council elections where over 2,000 people travelled […]
8th March 2012 Washington DC, USA
I’d like to draw your attention to the latest blog by our Head of Mission in Helmand, Michael O’Neill. The post covers Helmand Province on today, International Women’s Day. Helmand Province offers a microcosm of the wide range of conditions facing women and girls in Afghanistan. In many rural areas it’s hard for girls to […]
6th March 2012 Washington DC, USA
I’d like to draw your attention to the latest blog by our Head of Mission in Helmand, Michael O’Neill. The post covers his recent trip to Sangin, and highlights the impressive progress that has been made there over the last year and a half. As Michael notes, when he first visited Sangin in late 2010, […]
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29th February 2012 Washington DC, USA
General George S. Patton once told his troops, “Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.” At the Marine Corps Trials at Camp Pendleton last weekend, some extraordinary Royal Marines—who have already faced their full share of challenges—competed and felt the exhilaration of victory. The Trials are an eight-sport competition for all wounded, […]
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1st February 2012 Washington DC, USA
President Karzai was in London this past weekend with Prime Minister Cameron signing the Enduring Strategic Partnership between the UK and Afghanistan. The Partnership is a quick read – only four sides of paper – but it lays out the fundamentals of the UK’s relationship with the Afghan people for the foreseeable future. That’s important […]
22nd December 2010
You’ve got to admire the Dutch secret service, the AIVD, for their low profile. In fact when I see references to them in a show by US artist Jill Magid at the Tate Modern in London I log onto Google when I get home to check they exist. Even the Wikipedia entry notes that “there is […]