Saddam Hussein
Donald Trump is like a child pulling the wings off flies – all means and no end
We are seeing something new in human history: the relishing of annihilation as entertainment
Trump’s ‘little excursion’ could leave Iran even more fragmented, unstable and violent
For now, the most likely outcome is a shift to even greater levels of authoritarian control. Beyond that, the future is less certain
The Dubai dream is over. Irish expats can no longer suspend their disbelief
Dubai always demanded expats suspend their disbelief. Now the US military intervention in Iran and Iran’s retribution against Gulf states is forcing some to re-evaluate
Within Islam, Iran is a country apart
Rite & Reason: As we saw on this island, differences between denominations can soon wander beyond religion into the political
The Tony Blair Story: A master of spin who, in the end, was largely lying to himself
Blair emerges from this impressively wide-ranging documentary brimming with charm yet blank behind the eyes
Life under Saddam Hussein: ‘A child being asked to bake a cake without flour or sugar was not absurd’
Hasan Hadi’s film The President’s Cake centres on a deceptively simple premise: every year, schoolchildren were selected to make offerings for Saddam’s birthday, an impossible burden
Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson will go down in history as crawlers and creeps
If we want to understand why democracy is in such trouble, we can learn plenty from the careers of two men who were once stellar figures in democratic politics
Nael Bunni obituary: Engineer who became a leading expert in resolving construction industry disputes
Born in Iraq, he left Baghdad during Saddam Hussein’s regime after being asked to submit a false valuation for work
Dick Cheney was the most influential and consequential US vice-president in living memory
The architect-in-chief of America’s ‘war on terror’ was later vilified for relentlessly hawkish foreign policy
US is again betting that installing ‘our sonuvabitch’ will neutralise an adversary. It never does
Every 20 years the US and Israel attempt to remake the Middle East - always with catastrophic consequences
Two tribes: How Israel and Iran became enemies
The likelihood is that much of Iran’s nuclear capabilities remain intact, and despite calls for regime change there is no sign of Iranians rising up
The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East by Fawaz A Gerges – engaging read for seasoned observers
The scope is perhaps too broad, and the prose a little dry, for this book to appeal to the general reader
Burning question for Europe now is how to deal with an elected American tyrant
Donald Trump’s presidency has also generated a new focus on questions of identity and doubt in Europe
Mike Jackson obituary: British general associated with Bloody Sunday killings
Whatever about his reputation in Ireland he became probably Britain’s best-known post-second World War officer
Priest brought Biafra refugees to Wicklow without permission – and other strange tales from Dublin and London files
Records released by Irish and British archives include details of a ‘republican’ artefact thief and a ‘radical’ UK proposal to hold asylum seekers on a Scottish island
‘Now there is less fear.’ Baghdad’s youth reclaim their city, 20 years after US-led invasion
Post-invasion violence hemmed people into neighbourhoods but Baghdad residents now feel safer and socialise more
A Stranger in Your Own City, and Taking Sides: hard-hitting Middle East journalism memoirs
Lara Marlowe on notable new works by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad and Sherine Tadros
Janan Ganesh: The incoherence at the heart of anti-westernism
The West can’t stop its rivals reading it wrong, but it can choose not to encourage them
Maureen Dowd: Putin has trapped the world in his Napoleonic psychodrama
This demonic little man has been watching too many episodes of The Americans
Vast leak exposes how Credit Suisse served strongmen and spies
Bank held hundreds of millions of dollars for heads of state, intelligence officials and human rights abusers
Putin, US intelligence and the global fight for the Ukraine narrative
US effort to use intelligence to shape world opinion has to contend with shadow of the Iraq war
Aid workers: ‘I have to believe in goodness and in doing good’
Irish overseas offer humanitarian help in face of hunger, death and devastation
Life with Robert Fisk: I realised I would not be at peace until I wrote this book
In a new memoir, journalist Lara Marlowe recalls the life she shared with her former husband
Colin Powell’s death sparks complex array of blame and praise
Former US secretary of state’s role in US invasion of Iraq led to fatalities and misery
Colin Powell obituary: Respected military leader criticised for role in Iraq War
General who became first black US secretary of state made faulty claims about Hussein’s weapons
Former US secretary of state Colin Powell dies of Covid complications
Tributes paid to retired four-star general who helped build case for 2003 invasion of Iraq
Turnout plummets for Iraqi parliamentary election
Movement led by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr expected to be parliament’s biggest faction
Watching 9/11 unfold: A scene of endless horror
Conor O’Clery recalls how viewing the Twin Towers attack left a lasting sense of guilt and inadequacy in the face of catastrophe
America’s 20-year ‘war on terror’ cost $8tn and caused 900,000 deaths, report finds
Costs of War project looks at consequences of conflicts the US has waged since 9/11 attacks
Famous Kurdish cousins at heart of unseemly public bust-up
Erbil Letter: Poverty, power outages and lack of water fail to tear eyes from Talabanis
Afghanistan and the tragic verdict on post-9/11 America
US Politics: Rarely have so many lives and so much cash been spent on so little
Rebuilding Mosul: ‘It’s too difficult to make the right choices’
Four years after its liberation, many still do not believe Iraqi city is safe to return to
US blaming of Middle-Eastern ‘bad actors’ challenged by think tank
Quincy Institute points to US’s weapon exports and own role in region’s interventions
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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