Middle East crisis shows why Britain needs inspired leadership

Instead we have Keir Starmer...

No one wants to wake up to the news of war in the Middle East. But with the recent launch of Iranian missiles against Israel amid the country’s ground invasion of southern Lebanon, the prospect of lasting peace in the region is looking grim.

As the world holds its breath over troubling escalations, the prospect of a protracted regional war raises many concerns. Not least whether Britain, which risks being dragged in, has the right kind of leadership for such a precarious time. And make no mistake, these are precarious times.

Ever since the October 7 atrocity against Israel, Iran has terrorised the region by setting its attack dogs loose on the Israelis. And to make matters worse, Tehran’s proxies in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis have shown no signs of de-escalating despite their mounting losses. Their actions in Gaza, northern Israel and the Arabian Gulf have left many in the surrounding regions anxious that they, too, will be dragged into the crisis.

After its forensic takedown of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the decapitation of Hezbollah’s leadership with the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, and the destruction of a large swathe of its communications network and military arsenal, Israel had made it clear that she is capable of taking on its enemies – anytime and anywhere.

One would hope that Israel’s demonstration of unquestionable tactical and military superiority would be enough to deter her enemies. But things are only getting worse and the escalation is dangerous to us in the West too.

There is no reasoning with fanatics undeterred by the risk of TVs or toasters exploding. No air strikes, tampered pagers or exploding devices will ever be enough to show radical ideologues that they are losing the fight. Remember: would-be martyrs never surrender.

To top it all off, the world is now seeing an emboldened Iran willing to attack Israel directly instead of through its proxies in Yemen, Lebanon and Gaza. Iran’s mullahs must be riddled with anxiety at the prospect that they, too, could soon be slaughtered in their sleep. And it is this desperation that may drag the wider world into conflict.

After Iranian missile strikes, an Israeli response is now inevitable. The only question is how it will happen. Will Israel target Iranian leaders? Or attack energy infrastructure? Could it even hit Iran’s nuclear programme? Your guess is as good as mine.

But the bottom line is this: the temperature is going up, not down. And that is a frightening reality for the Western world. Are its leaders up to the task of wading through these tense waters? Can Joe Biden, Keir Starmer and their global peers show the kind of inspired leadership necessary to de-escalate the crisis?

Gone are the Kissingers, Kennedys, and even Khrushchevs of the world, who held much sway on the international stage. Even Tony Blair, despite his disastrous legacy of invading Iraq in support of George W Bush, still commands respect as an impressive statesman on the global stage. Keir Starmer by contrast has yet to be tested.

And who can trust the decision-making skills of a man who thought David Lammy was the best choice for Foreign Secretary? In the short time he has held the role, he has inspired little confidence. Not least because of his pointless gesture of suspending 30 (out of around 350) arms export licences to Israel. What exactly did he hope to achieve?

If his 2008 performance on Celebrity Mastermind is any indication, Mr Lammy’s knowledge of geopolitics remains as weak as it was then. And that does not bode well for Britain.

Of course, Britain must support Israel against the fanatics dedicated to its destruction. But that does not include the thousands of innocents who will be caught in the crossfire should this escalate to a full-out war. We certainly cannot afford to be dragged into anything of that kind. The fact we apparently cannot even afford to support pensioners with a winter fuel allowance suggests Britain is in no way economically ready to engage in conflict of any kind.

A protracted war is everyone’s nightmare scenario, for obvious reasons. For Israel, it will only worsen its economic situation and accelerate capital flight, which has already hit over $ 2 billion this year. For Iran, the survival of its theocracy is at risk. And for its proxies in the region who would be left to fend for themselves, the ensuing domestic and refugee crisis would be nothing short of anarchy.

Every day, it feels like we’re edging closer towards World War Three, and the need for inspired leadership has never been greater. All eyes are on Israel and the West to see if cool heads and skilled diplomacy will prevail.

We can only hope.