Rod Whiting

If UK follows suit, 1 Div would take on the Home Defence role - NATO reinforcement is, for 1 Div, for the birds, and NATO has told the MoD such. But Army sees Home Defence as below it, and believes it is a Home Office - police, private security companies - role.

My favourite kind of story. Adversity didn’t define her limits - it defined her determination to succeed.

If trust is being questioned, intelligence sharing becomes more selective - on both sides!

Telling the Pope to be careful on theology is quite something.

The bravest bone spur in the world. CBS reporter Olivia Rinaldi barely got started: “Mr. President, a question on Iran. Iranian gunboats fired upon two vessels today. President Macron said that…” He folded like a lawn chair. “Out.” Iran is running this man’s presidency now. Every gunboat in the Strait is another headline he cannot survive. They are bleeding him dry, straight through the midterms. Iran wants regime change too. Just not in Tehran.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Follow Gandalv @Microinteracti1

We’ve become used to a stable world. That assumption is shifting - quickly. The instinct is to switch off and think: what can I actually do? A short moment from my conversation with @samolsenx on 'Fault Lines'. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/rodwhiting…?

Trump will be known as the first US president to have been a traitor to his nation, embracing Putin, attacking NATO and working on Moscow’s behalf. He will also be known for his failed Iran war, for his massive corruption and for his role as an accomplice to Epstein and Maxwell.

We have to make choices. “Guns or butter.” From today’s Times.

BREAKING: The Trump administration quietly extended the sanctions waiver on Russian oil for another month

We tend to think of threats to the UK in terms of tanks and missiles. This is something else entirely. Conversation with @samolsenx 🎧 Full episode: 👇 open.substack.com/pub/rodwhiting…?

APPLEBAUM: Trump administration wants to do business with Russia, and war in Ukraine is an obstacle. They treat it like trivial problem that could be solved if Zelenskyy would just step aside. It’s profound arrogance, ignorance, and hubris all wrapped into one. This is a really big war. It’s a war about European civilization, the same civilization they claim to care about. It’s about sovereignty. Do Ukrainians not deserve sovereignty? This is illustrative of the deep shallowness of Trump administration and their inability to spend even five minutes trying to understand what these conflicts around the world are actually about.

We got too comfortable in a predictable world. Suddenly, it feels more chaotic, more dangerous. But what if this is the norm? I’ve launched a new podcast - Fault Lines. First episode with @samolsenx on security, resilience, and what’s really driving the change. 👇 buzzsprout.com/2610460/episod…

Shooting the messenger is no substitute for action. Dismissing concern as “armchair general” criticism is both ineffective and disingenuous. The Defence Review is ready, urgent - and still not funded.

@Ziya_Meral Totally agree. Until the public is persuaded of the urgency, politicians won’t feel the pressure to act. The Defence Review is ready. It’s being stalled on cost because the trade-off between welfare and defence still isn’t being confronted. Time is running short.

All these strong criticisms of why UK government is still not rising to the challenge and investing properly in defence are spot on.. But they leave a deeper problem out.. Without the British public internalising the need and putting pressure on a government, politics will always focus on here and now.. Defence conversations have been an elite sport for far too long.. Public is not ready.. I wrote an article on this last week inews.co.uk/opinion/world-…

@ThreshedThought Excellent call! A shame Starmer deflected rather than acknowledged.