Showing 1 - 10 of 57
Netanyahu's war, Trump's big gamble
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 04/03/2026
» Donald Trump is not just Benjamin Netanyahu's glove puppet, but it is remarkable how much influence the Israeli prime minister has over the American president. If you are seeking a reason why Mr Trump felt the need to attack Iran again, only nine months after he declared that he had eliminated any nuclear threat from that country, you need look no further.
The case of the disappearing senior generals
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 10/02/2026
» Armies can be used against both against foreigners abroad and against citizens at home, but the two roles require quite different equipment and tactics. The same applies to their commanders: you need a different kind of general if you think that the primary task of their troops will be controlling dissent at home.
Symbolic acts won't create a real Palestine
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 25/09/2025
» Ten more countries are recognising Palestine as a sovereign state in the course of this week. That brings the total up from 147 to 157. It's a big deal to an extent because for the first time it includes quite a few big, rich Western countries (France, the UK, Canada and Australia). But it is not unified, and it still controls no territory.
Today, Tuvalu. Tomorrow, the entire world
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 15/07/2025
» Some big changes arrive with a bang, but usually they sort of sneak in and you barely notice them at first. Last month's big change saw the creation of the world's first climate-change visas. It's a way of giving potential climate refugees some hope and some dignity, and it would certainly be an improvement on the current migration mess.
Conflict in Gaza and Kashmir on a parallel track
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 12/05/2025
» There is a striking parallel between the 20-month war in the Gaza Strip and the week-old not-yet-war between India and Pakistan. Both confrontations were set off by horrendously cruel mass murders by terrorists whose goal was obviously to start a war that drew the attention of the world back to their own goals and grievances.
Gaza impunity: Israel and the Great Eviction
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/05/2025
» Israel may or may not have God on its side (opinions vary), but it certainly has the US government, and that seems to be enough. It has just attacked an unarmed civilian ship called Conscience with armed drones near Malta in the central Mediterranean, almost 2,000 kilometres from Israel -- and nobody has said "boo".
South Asian nuclear war would hit globe
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 01/05/2025
» India and Pakistan have had several shooting matches since they carried out a total of nine underground nuclear weapons tests in 1998. However, they don't make Putin-style thinly veiled threats to use their nukes (around 170 nuclear warheads each at the moment), and they do understand that escalation from smaller, "conventional" wars is the real danger.
Trump-era elections in the Anglosphere
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 23/04/2025
» The dictionary defines a "horse whisperer" as "someone who is skilled at training horses using gentle, non-violent methods based on understanding horse behaviour and psychology". By that standard, the only "Trump-whisperer" in Europe is Vladimir Putin (although Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Italy's Giorgia Meloni might get bit parts in the movie).
'Flooding the zone' will likely backfire
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 22/02/2025
» The planning for a hard-right takeover of the United States federal government was detailed and meticulous, and its execution by Elon Musk and his young Silicon Valley stormtroopers was ruthless and mostly successful. They did indeed "move fast and break things", notably in gaining illegal access to the Department of Treasury payments system by sheer intimidation.
War: two steps forward, two steps back?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 13/02/2025
» In classical civilisations, there was a continuing, unresolved debate about whether history moved forward or just went around in circles: was it linear or was it cyclical? But that debate was largely settled once human beings learned about their deeper past. It's linear.