Francis Pike

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Articles

The once-mighty US Navy is suddenly looking vulnerable

2 weeks ago | thespectator.com | Francis Pike |James Tidmarsh |Kate Andrews |Freddy Gray

Earlier this year, a bright light streaked through the night sky above Inner Mongolia. It was not an asteroid. The US Center for Strategic and International Studies, which released the footage, reported that it was China’s testing of a missile traveling at approximately 6,900 miles per hour. When China’s DF-27 hypersonic missile was first revealed in 2021, the US military was shaken.
Why Tulip Siddiq had to go

Jan 14, 2025 | spectator.co.uk | Francis Pike

In 1996, I flew to Dhaka to meet Sheikh Hasina, the newly elected prime minister of Bangladesh, to discuss her economic strategy. It was not a pleasant experience. Hasina was humourless, arrogant and bitter – by a long stretch, the most unlikeable politician I’ve met in the sub-continent. By contrast her diminutive niece, Tulip Siddiq, Labour’s anti-corruption minister who has just resigned over her ties to her aunt, is a charmer. To be fair to Hasina, she had excuses for her unattractive demeanour.
Why Tulip Siddiq had to go

Jan 14, 2025 | spectator.com.au | Francis Pike

In 1996, I flew to Dhaka to meet Sheikh Hasina, the newly elected prime minister of Bangladesh, to discuss her economic strategy. It was not a pleasant experience. Hasina was humourless, arrogant and bitter – by a long stretch, the most unlikeable politician I’ve met in the sub-continent. By contrast her diminutive niece, Tulip Siddiq, Labour’s anti-corruption minister who has just resigned over her ties to her aunt, is a charmer.
Will Trump and Musk fall out? Or will it be Batman and Robin in the White House?

Jan 10, 2025 | conservativewoman.co.uk | Francis Pike

LAST WEEK the 2024 fantasy movie Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire entered the Netflix Top Ten at No 3 in the United States. Cinema audiences appear to have an unquenchable thirst for monster movies. Japan’s Godzilla, as a franchise, comprises a body of 33 films; its American competitor, King Kong, has 13. The two were first brought face-to-face in 1962 with King Kong vs Godzilla. Americans like monster movies, but ‘monster versus monster’ movies go one better.
The West should stand by Donald Trump’s attempt to buy Greenland

Dec 30, 2024 | thespectator.com | Francis Pike

Over Christmas, President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social site that “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”Trump’s overture, while highly unwelcome to the Danes, is not a new idea. He made the proposal first in 2019.
South Korea has a long history of martial law

Dec 4, 2024 | spectator.co.uk | Francis Pike

In 2024, no incumbent has been safe. Whether it was the Democrats in America or the Tories in Britain, there has been plenty of drama in every corner of the globe. Here in Westminster, Keir Starmer swept to power – only to discover that governing well is quite a bit harder than some seemed to
South Korea has a long history of martial law

Dec 4, 2024 | spectator.com.au | Francis Pike

Yesterday afternoon South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol made the shock TV announcement that he was putting his country under martial law. According to Article 77 of South Korea’s constitution, the People’ Power party President was within his rights. But why? Yoon wheeled out the standard coup trope that he needed ‘to restore order’.
Why the West must back Syria's Bashar al-Assad

Dec 2, 2024 | spectator.co.uk | Francis Pike

I had a nasty shock when I switched on my TV on Sunday. It was clearly a propaganda film with hijabed women standing amidst the rubble of their former homes extolling Hezbollah’s victory over the invading forces of Israel. Except it wasn’t a propaganda film; it was a BBC news report from Lebanon highlighting the plight of the de-housed Hezbollah-supporting Lebanese. Of course, there was no report on the 60,000 Israelis who are still too frightened to return to their homes in northern Israel.
Why the West must back Syria’s Bashar al-Assad

Dec 2, 2024 | spectator.com.au | Francis Pike

I had a nasty shock when I switched on my TV on Sunday. It was clearly a propaganda film with hijabed women standing amidst the rubble of their former homes extolling Hezbollah’s victory over the invading forces of Israel. Except it wasn’t a propaganda film; it was a BBC news report from Lebanon highlighting the plight of the de-housed Hezbollah-supporting Lebanese.
My choice as world leader of the century? Netanyahu

Nov 26, 2024 | conservativewoman.co.uk | Francis Pike

NOW THAT we are nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, it is interesting to speculate on who is the best world leader so far. With the advantage of hindsight, we can clearly recognise the great world leaders of the last century. In no particular order my list would include Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt, Konrad Adenauer, Yoshida Shigeru, Charles de Gaulle, Lee Kuan Yew, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping.