‘US intentions could not have been clearer if they’d been up in lights in Times Square.’
“There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen.” It’s a famous, much-used quote, often attributed to Vladimir Lenin, though this is disputed. And stretch it a little - say, six weeks, not one - and it looks a good fit for the current foreign policy scene. America has attacked Venezuela, seized its leader, Nicholas Maduro, and put him on trial in a New York courtroom, with follow-up threats of similar action in relation to Cuba, Colombia and Mexico. Donald Trump has warned a NATO ally, Denmark, that one way or another, if necessary by force, he intends to take a chunk of their territory from them in the form of Greenland. And Britain and France have signed up to contribute their soldiers to a “reassurance and stabilisation force” in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire there.
So, two points. First, a nod of sympathy to my former colleagues in the Foreign Office who will be struggling to deal with this pile up of crises and events. And second, for what they are worth, my thoughts on what is going on and what might happen next...
