US Navy overworked in Gulf

The US Navy hasn't been so busy for a long time. First, two carrier strike groups and guided-missile destroyers were heasvily involved in Operation Epic Fury, hitting targets in Iran, then Donald Trump wanted a naval blockade, so off went the destroyers to block all Iranian ports along the Gulf waterway, and now, as from today, the same destroyers are starting to escort and protect hundreds of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. How can there be enough destroyers in the area to carry out all these tasks? I rechon there can't be more than a dozen guided-missile destroyers available for these missions, unless the Pentagon finds a lot more and redeploys them to the region. Iran has said that escorting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz which they claim for their own, is an act of war and will break the ceasefire. But Trump has called it an act of humanity which it pretty much is. These ships and their crews have been stuck for weeks and they are running out of food. So, Trump is right. But Iran could well start to attack US warships who dare to go through the strait. Then it's all back to war. Trump won't stand for that and he will probably declare an end to the ceasefire and restart bombing of any targets still left untouched. Either way, the shooting is bound to start once again. PLEASE BUY AGENT REDRUTH, MY NEW SPY THRILLER PAPERBACK, SEQUEL TO SHADOW LIVES.

Ukraine's lesson-learning warfighting skills

The war in Ukraine has been going on for so long - four years and two and a bit months - that the rest of the world, with the exception of Russia, may have become disinterested and ignorant about what the Ukrainian armed forces have amazingly achieved. They are fighting a neighbour with everything from nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles to long-range cruise missiles but have not just survived (ok, no nukes used yet thank God), they have shown the US and Nato how to confront Russia. They have developed brilliant ways to counter the threat posed by the Iran-supplied Shahed drones, they have designed long-range drones of their own to target Russian airbases, navy and energy plants and they have forced the mighty Russian army to a halt. Ukrainian soldiers must be exhausted but they have saved their country by adapting fantastically to modern warfare. Russia kills Ukrainians most days but Kyiv's drones and missiles are causing devastating destruction and killing so many Russian troops that Putin is running out of a male labour force to keep things going back at home. The Russian leader always looks cocky on television when he is seen greeting some visiting politician or dignitary. But deep down, he must now be scared that Ukraine is actually going to defeat him. Putin may have to beg for a peace settlement that will be more in Kyiv's favour than Moscow's. How amazing would that be? Watch this space. Please buy Agent Redruth, my new spy thriller paperback. Amazon, Rowanvale Books, Waterstones

Chancellor Mertz should apologise

Why on earth Chancellor Mertz thought it was wise, necessary or justified to declare that the US has been humiliated by Iran is a matter for him. But his statement has brought relations between Washington and Berlin to a new low. And now, in retaliation, Donald Trump is to pull 5,000 American troops out of Germany to punish Mertz for his indiscretion. It strikes me that European leaders are suddenly feeling more confident about criticising Trump, never mind the consequences. But this is bad diplomacy, bad leadership and very bad for the Nato alliance which, of course, is still led by the US. What does Mertz want? Does he want to split the alliance? Does he think the alliance should become a Germany-led organisation and kick out the Americans? If so, no one is going to thank him, least of all the rest of the European members of the alliance. Yes, Europe should spend more on defence, but the Nato alliance is based on the Washington Treaty. The Washington Treaty! With the US at its head. And that's the way it must remain while Russia is becoming more and more aggressive. Mertz and his fellow European leaders must bite their tongues before they come out in public and make imprudent remarks. Mertz should apologise to Trump and make up.

Asymmetry wins wars - think David and Goliath

In case all the world's leaders have not yet got the message. Asymmetry versus might is what lets the little ones get one over the big ones. David got the idea when he faced Goliath. Paul Newman did it right when he faced the huge rival who wanted to take over his gang in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He stepped forward to shake his hand before the fight to the death began and then kicked him hard between the legs. Fight over. The Taliban defeated the US-led coalition in Afghanistan with AK47s, roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. Ukraine stopped the Russian invasion seizing the whole country with shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles and drones. Now Iran has halted the US in its tracks by seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz, causing chaos in the oil business and world trade. It's the Iranian version of Paul Newman's kick in the balls. Asymmetry works. It's clever, it's cheap and it's massively frustrating for a military power which has every armament in the books at its disposal. So, what to do? The US is not going to win this war unless Trump send hundreds of thousands of troops into Iran to topple the regime and seize all of its enriched uranium. And we know he is not going to do that. Tehran and the clerics know he's not going to do that. So there is no alternative but a deal. And the way things are going it's not going to be a win win deal for the US. Just a deal which Trump can attempt to sell to the American people and to the world as a victory. PLEASE BUY AGENT REDRUTH, MY NEW SPY THRILLER. AMAZON, WATERSTONES, ROWANVALE BOOKS.

Trump and Putin have a war each to chat about

Amidst all the turmoil of the wars in Ukraine and Iran, President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin had time - quite a lot of time by the sound of it - to compare warlike notes and offer each other help and advice. It's bizarre. The two leaders get on well but they can't trust each other. The evidence of that is that they never do deals together. Putin has ignored Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine, and Trump has rejected Putin's offer of taking possession of Iran's enriched uranium. Trump wants that stuff in HIS hands, or at least in the ownership of the United States, so that it can be destroyed. Nevertheless, the two leaders had a long chat and I guess that is good, even though it didn't get anywhere. Putin and Trump have nowe spoken on the phone about a dozen times. Has the world got safer as a result? Difficult to tell. But the one thing these chats haven't done is bring a peaceful solution to either of the wars currently affecting the whole world. Trump, in his usual optimistic way, tells reporters after the latest talk with Putin that he thinks the war in Ukraine will come to an end soon, just like he has always said the war in Iran is nearly over. But But Ukraine is not going to end the war on Putin's terms, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is not going to concede to Trump's demands. So, there is no end on sight for either of these wars.

UK ambassador to Washington betrayed by sixth-form visitor

Sir Christian Turner, Britain's ambassador to Washington, is the latest victim of a breach of confidence. He gave up his valuable time to see a bunch of sixth-formers for a session at the embassy and spoke to them privately about some of his views. This took place in February but now, timed to perfection, as King Charles and Camilla carry out a state visit to the United States, one of the sixth-formers or their parents or whoever, has leaked the contens of the ambassador's address to them to the Financial Times. He is now in odour with his bosses at the Foreign Office because his remarks are perceived to be embarrassing to HM Government. Actually, he didn't say anything very controversial. He said America's real special relationship was not with Britain but with Israel. Correct. Then he expressed amazement that no senior figure in the US, unlike in the UK, had been investigated or pilloried for being connected to Jeffry Epstein, the late and unlamented sex trafficker. True. And then he predicted that Sir Keir Starmer probably won't survive as prime minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal. Sir Christian Turner succeeded Mandelson after he was fired as UK ambassador to Washington. He's probably right. But, of course, when this all comes out of the mouth of the ambassador at a time when relations - except with the king - are so poor between Britain and Trumpland, it has been blown up into another example of a top diplomnat being terribly indiscreet. I feel sorry for the guy. It just shows you can't trust anyone these days. Why did someone in the party privileged to chat with the ambassador in a specially-arranged visit to the embassy, feel it was ok to betray the confidence and blurt it all out to a newspaper? Whoever it was, they should be ashamed. PLEASE BUY AGENT REDRUTH, MY NEW SPY THRILLER. AMAZON, WATERSTONES, ROWANVALE BOOKS.

Russian superyacht gets a free pass through the Strait of Hormuz

This is the way it's going to be for ever. Iran, or in reality the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, will pick and choose who to let through the Strait of Hormuz. Us warships? No way. A western-flagged oil tanker? No chance. A Russian superyacht, owned by a billionaire and pal of Vladimir Putin? Be our guest. Before the war against Iran started, more than 130 ships were going through the strait without interference from the IRGC and without any toll system. Now the IRGC is totally in charge, and nothing is getting through except with its permission. Thus, the Russian superyacht. The Iranian foreign minister had talks in Moscow the other day and I assume the superyacht request must have been raised. It's both ironic and ominous that it has become so easy for the IRGC to do what the hell it likes in the strait and the US with all of its naval power seems to be able to do very little about it, other than impose a blockade of the Iranian blockade. If the US naval blockade is maintained and the Iranians can't use any of their ports for importing and exporting, then it should on the face of it drive Iran into penury pretty quickly. But it seems Iran has the ability to absorb terrible punishment and yet just carry on. At some point there will have to be a point of no return for the Iranian economy and the IRGC will come begging for a deal. But they are showing no sign of backing down right now or in the foreseeable future. PLEASE BUY AGENT REDRUTH, MY NEW SPY THRILLER. AMAZON, WATERSTONES, ROWANVALE BOOKS.