Helen Chandler-Wilde: How to Break out of the (Policy) Matrix
Hi there, it's Helen Chandler-Wilde, a UK journalist and editor of The Readout. Hope you enjoy today's newsletter.
Keir Starmer has come back from the Bank Holiday weekend and landed right into a tricky spot fighting off attacks from both the left and the right. Yet incoming fire from both directions is currently coming from the same source: Reform.
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Washington Post
22 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Is Russia's slow, endless grind really a recipe for victory?
In today's edition: Russia would like you to believe it is winning its war of aggression against Ukraine. But let's look at some numbers: Russia, what exactly do you mean by 'winning'? These statistics come from strategy analyst Riley McCabe's examination of the terrible price Russia has paid for marginal gains, and they are just the beginning; McCabe also studies the equipment Russia is losing, and the situation there looks no better. It is true Russia remains on the offensive, McCabe says, 'but initiative alone is not victory.' He writes: 'Ukraine's defense-in-depth strategy, bolstered by U.S. and European support, has transformed the battlefield into a war of attrition that favors defenders and punishes attackers.' McCabe says the West needs to leverage Russia's slow bleed. But however bruised it is, Russia could yet open another front in the war, Jim Geraghty writes. 'You're forgiven if you haven't spent a lot of time thinking about Moldova's parliamentary elections coming up in September,' he opens his column — but you might want to start. It is in Europe's least-visited country that Russia is meddling with to install a friendlier government, the Moldovan prime minister recently alleged. Moscow's eye is on Transnistria, the rogue region of Moldova that has pledged fealty to Russia for years. Jim writes that 'few in their right mind would choose to visit a pseudo-country that still has a hammer and sickle on its flag,' so naturally he went to check it out. Jim's column is both a profile of this strange place (including its through-the-looking-glass Soviet version of a Hard Rock Café) and a warning of how things could go very, very badly if it falls even deeper under Russia's control. From Karen Tumulty's review of Tuesday's primary elections for New Jersey governor. All eyes are on the Garden State, Karen notes, one of two 'that hold their gubernatorial contests in the year following presidential elections and are therefore seen as bellwethers of national politics.' For a state that moved sharply to the right just seven months ago, a surprising number of Democratic voters pulled up to the polls. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D) herself described the turnout as 'unheard of' — and hopefully a peek at 'what's coming in November here' (and, perhaps, everywhere else). This Father's Day, Los Angeles writer Nick Dothée offers us gentle reflections on his last moments with his dad. Dothée's father was a public defender, who believed 'everyone deserved someone in their corner, even if — especially if — they'd made a mess of things.' When Dothée made a mess of his own life — the writer experienced addiction in his past — his father made the painful decision to sever ties until his son could recover. Dothée got sober as his dad's health declined, but in the father's final years, the two reconnected, drawing from the deep reserve of father-son love to hold each other up. 'If he had died without seeing me sober, I would've carried the guilt for a lifetime,' writes Dothée. 'But he saw me. And I saw him. And I got to tell him he did right by me.' It's a goodbye. It's a haiku. It's … The Bye-Ku. Conquering a foe One Delaware at a time Works on Delaware *** Have your own newsy haiku? Email it to me, along with any questions/comments/ambiguities. See you tomorrow!
Wall Street Journal
25 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Intelligence Official's Unofficial View Is That Nuclear War Is Closer Than Ever
WASHINGTON—The warning by Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, couldn't have been graver: 'Political elite warmongers' have brought the world closer to the 'the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before,' she said. But the alarm she sounded wasn't an official conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community: It was Gabbard's own view, shared Tuesday on her personal X account in a highly produced video that shows an animated depiction of the Golden Gate Bridge being obliterated in a nuclear blast.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Prepare to back Israel in conflict with Iran
Once again, Iran's reckless pursuit of nuclear armaments has the Middle East poised on a knife-edge. The International Atomic Energy Agency has declared that Tehran is in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years, and the rogue state's response has been to declare that it will 'significantly' increase production of enriched uranium. British and American government warnings appear to signal the potential for an imminent conflict between Iran and Israel, with Jerusalem calling for a 'decisive' response to Iran's obstruction of nuclear weapons inspections. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is now 'less confident' that a deal can be reached on the country's nuclear programme, with Tehran adopting a hardline position on the matter. It goes almost without saying that whatever steps are necessary to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons must be taken. As two direct strikes on Israel last year proved, Iran's despotic state is perfectly willing to use force to protect its terrorist proxies in neighbouring countries, and to attempt to pressure the Jewish state into abandoning its efforts at self-defence. Equally, events have made it perfectly clear where Britain's interests and allies in the Middle East are, even if Sir Keir Starmer's Government sometimes seems confused on this point. The Iranian state is a destructive and destabilising force across the region, sponsoring terrorism and fomenting chaos from Houthi strikes on vital shipping lanes to its long-standing support for Hezbollah. If permitted to obtain nuclear weapons, Tehran would inevitably feel emboldened to take these actions further, hiding behind threats of raining destruction down on any party which attempted to rein in its behaviour. This would be an untenable situation for the Jewish state. Iranian leaders have repeatedly called for its destruction, while funding those attempting to bring that about. While military action is not inevitable, if the Israeli government concludes that a targeted strike against Iran's nuclear capabilities is the only way to prevent this scenario coming to pass, Britain and America should not stand in its way. Instead, the role of the wider West now is to work with our allies in Jerusalem in working out how to best contain the Iranian threat, dismantle its nuclear power, and prevent the worst case scenario of a nuclear armed theocracy coming to pass. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
