Lynne O'Donnell

2 weeks ago | lynneodonnell.substack.com | Lynne O'Donnell

May 19, 2025 — As Afghans who fled Taliban terror now face deportation from countries they once believed were safe, it is clear that exiled political organisations have failed to build meaningful support for dislodging the Islamists from power. Nearly four years into Taliban rule, the group has deftly embedded itself in global diplomatic discourse, while opposition factions have slid into irrelevance.

1 month ago | lynneodonnell.substack.com | Lynne O'Donnell

April 26, 2025 — Afghanistan isn’t safe, yet the United States may soon be responsible for sending our most trusted partners in Afghanistan back to a corrupt and brutal reality where they will be directly targeted for serving alongside American interests – unless the administration and Congress act now.

1 month ago | theneweuropean.co.uk | Lynne O'Donnell

In a town that never really liked Donald Trump much anyway, it’s getting harder to find anyone who has a good word to say about him, even grudgingly. And then came the tariffs, which damaged America’s export markets and hammered the stock markets. “The consequences are still unfurling, but the stakes are high,” the NYT columnist Jeff Sommer said of the dangerous volatility the tariffs unleashed.

1 month ago | lynneodonnell.substack.com | Lynne O'Donnell

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Feb 6, 2025 | theneweuropean.co.uk | Lynne O'Donnell

Has president Donald Trump had a reality check amid the global outrage that greeted his suggestion that Palestinian people be removed from the Gaza Strip, so that it can be rebuilt as a Costa Smerelda-style playground for the rich of the Middle East? Or did Trump’s incendiary announcement have exactly the impact it was meant to, by focussing minds on the failure of the Middle East’s biggest powers to bring peace to their own backyard?