Category Archives: Britain

Britain, Islamic State, Middle East, United States

Responding to Islamic State (IS) requires a measured approach…

ISLAMIC STATE

The beheading of David Haines, the British aid worker, is an act of brutal savagery. Mr Haines, a former aircraft engineer and RAF Sergeant, had endured 18-months of pain and anguish since his captors had seized him on the Syrian-Turkish border delivering aid to refugees. His courage in the face of this appalling act can barely be imagined. That Mr Haines had devoted himself to bring relief to the sufferings of others in the Middle East region only adds to the monstrous nature of his murder.

Quite rightly, the international attention in the wake of this latest atrocity has swung sharply to the response of the British government.

Here the Government faces a most searching dilemma. After the experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan, there was a widespread conviction across the political spectrum and the country that Britain should never again be dragged into an armed conflict in the Middle East. That mood is rapidly changing.

The British government is now under growing pressure to respond, not only with aid and supplies to the Kurds in northern Iraq, but also to engage directly with air strikes against the Islamic militants.

The dilemma for David Cameron is one which is compounded by the timing of these latest developments. The prime minister has to articulate an appropriate response that reflects the national revulsion against the brutality of IS and the threat that the proliferation of murderous terrorism presents to the region, while at the same time desperately struggling to prevent the break-up of the United Kingdom. Scotland goes to the polls on the 18 September in its long awaited referendum for independence.

The stakes could hardly be higher. The collision of these two events inarguably presents the prime minister with his greatest challenge yet. So charged is the political atmosphere at home that some fear a decision to launch air strikes at this time would seriously impact on his chances of securing a No vote in the referendum.

Crucially, however, these are totally separate issues, and they must be dealt with separately, rather than allowing speculation of possible political consequences to cloud the issues at stake.

The choice before the British government is whether to continue with its current policy of providing arms, ammunition, technical equipment and training to the Kurds to enhance their fight against IS, or whether the UK should step up its response with direct military involvement.

A campaign of air strikes requires careful consideration, not least on logistical grounds, and will require time to organise and prepare. By default of the political situation in the UK any possible air strikes would have been ruled out in the next 72 hours. More difficult, still, would be a deployment in the tumultuous immediate aftermath of a referendum Yes vote.

What has become abundantly clear since the establishment of IS and its ostensible caliphate is that the fight against IS is going to be long and protracted. On this basis, the UK’s military response has to be credible rather than merely a gesture. That will require detailed consideration and follow-through. Instant response through anger is no solution.

We should not forget, either, that there is also much to be done to encourage and support a UN response. World opinion must be fully supportive of action as and when it occurs.

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Britain, Health, Medical, Research, Science

Findings suggest the use of pomegranate could halt Alzheimer’s…

MEDICAL RESEARCH

British scientists have said that pomegranates could help stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, a debilitating illness of the brain.

They claim a chemical compound in the fruit could prevent inflammation which destroys brain cells.

The findings raise hope that punicalagin could now be used in a drug to prevent or treat the condition, while the hunt for a cure continues. Treatments could also benefit sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s disease in the future, because any resulting drug could help to combat inflammation involved in these conditions too.

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Pomegranates have been used for centuries in Middle Eastern folk medicine and are said to be effective against heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), and some cancers, including prostate. The breakthrough shows that punicalagin can inhibit inflammation in specialised brain cells known as micrologia. This inflammation triggers the destruction of brain cells, which makes Alzheimer’s progressively worse.

Researchers at the University of Huddersfield along with colleagues at the University of Freiburg in Germany used brain cells from rats to test their findings.

Study leader Dr Olumayokun Olajide, of Huddersfield’s Department of Pharmacy, is now looking into how much pomegranate extract would be effective in a drug. He pointed out that juice products which are 100 per cent pomegranate contain approximately 3.4 per cent punicalagin. Most of the antioxidant compounds are found in the outer skin of the fruit.

Dr Olajide, added: ‘We do know that regular intake and regular consumption of pomegranate has a lot of health benefits – including prevention of neuro-inflammation related to dementia.’

Although the link has yet to be scientifically proven, pomegranate may be useful for treating inflammation in other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s and cancer, not just neuro-inflammation of the brain.

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Britain, Economic, Europe, European Union, Government, National Security, NATO, Politics, Society

NATO, its purpose and the wider meaning of ‘security’…

QUESTION OF ‘SECURITY’

NATO’s main role during the Cold War was to counter Soviet expansionism. That stand-off ended 25 years ago. As military budgets started falling following the end of the Cold War, and with less political and public appetite for military confrontation, the organisation was beginning to look irrelevant in today’s world. Questions have been continually asked of its modern-day role and purpose.

NATO certainly faces a renewed challenge on its eastern European border from an increasingly hostile and belligerent Russia. In the long-term this may even herald a reboot in Russian expansionism. Further afield, the insidious threats of Islamic State terrorists and continuing instability in the Middle East cannot be ignored either.

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When NATO talks in terms of security, it should be imperative that also includes the security of energy supplies. Currently, we depend on both Russia and the Middle East for much of our energy. Recent events serve to highlight the vulnerability of our energy supplies and the political constraints that results from our wholesale dependence on fuel imports from these volatile regions. Without political stability in those regions, there can be no energy security at home.

One immediate question that should come to mind is whether Russia might choose to use its energy exports to the EU as a political bargaining tool. The threat that it could happen is starting to be taken seriously. Reports that the EU is drafting emergency plans that would impose rationing on industry this winter, has serious economic repercussions.

Secure, sustainable and predictable supplies of energy are essential for economic growth and prosperity. A $20 rise in the price of oil for two economic quarters is likely to reduce global GDP by 0.5 per cent.

Stability in the price of oil is also important. Price volatility is an ongoing risk for all sectors of the economy. The armed forces, for example, consume large amounts of fuel. Rapid and unexpected increases in the price of oil can disrupt the capacity of our forces’ to operate effectively, be it through less time at sea for training or fewer hours flown in helicopters and jets.

The economic and supply disruption risks are especially acute in those countries with a high dependency on imported energy. The EU, for instance, imports 53 per cent of the energy that it consumes. The UK sources about 40 per cent of its coal imports from Russia.

The political corollary of dependence on energy from unstable and unsavoury regimes is that it constrains the response that the UK, Europe and NATO are able to give when faced with aggression. Whilst Germany has been more active of late in calling for sanctions, its stance towards Russia is partly determined by the continuing need to keep Russian gas flowing.

More troubling, though, and looking further ahead, how would we deal with a situation in which the Islamic State became established as a permanent presence, including control of oil and gas exports?

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The quickest and most effective form of energy security is to use less.

Lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan suggests that energy efficiency is embedded in military thinking on both sides of the Atlantic. Not only does it improve military effectiveness but it reduces risk and saves money.

The same needs to happen with national energy strategies. There needs to be a comprehensive programme of energy efficiency measures across all sectors – particularly across utility companies, transportation and the need to improve energy usage in both domestic and commercial buildings. The programme should be demanding, for only when the full benefits have been delivered can we be sure of relying less on energy imports. The wider gains from improved air quality and reduced greenhouse emissions would be presumptive in any such programme.

More important still is that it makes economic sense for Europe to be at the forefront of energy efficiency measures as this will improve competitiveness with the US and China, both of whom enjoy the benefits of scale and low cost energy.

EU ministers are currently debating whether to approve a target of improving energy efficiency by 30 per cent (from 2005 levels) by 2030. The Ukraine crisis has indicated that this has to happen. Some analysts believe that 40 per cent energy efficiency targets could be met without incurring any unnecessary economic penalties.

Alongside this, continuing to invest in domestic sources of energy, particularly established ones such as wind, solar and nuclear, and new entrants such as wave and tidal power, is crucial. We cannot always rely on imported energy, but the tide will always flow and ebb twice a day.

NATO should become a powerful platform for promoting this change, by explicitly articulating the threat that we face. Efficiency and diversity in domestic energy generation are not issues that should be seen as just part of the ‘green’ agenda. They are vital to our national and regional security.

The challenges posed by increasing geopolitical instability and the threats to our energy security are only like to grow. Reducing energy consumption and investing in new forms of energy is a strategy that simultaneously defends against international volatility, improves our economy and liberates our response to aggression from the stranglehold of dependency.

NATO has a role to play in reducing our vulnerability.

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