Pity Boris Johnson’s Foreign Office briefing team this week. There is a strain of thought, particularly virulent among diplomats, that one should “always be talking”. This is outwardly reasonable — “jaw-jaw rather than war-war”. But what if the other side is doing both at the same time? What if war is being waged against you (using a variety of methods, none of which include the overt use of military force) at the very same time as words — smooth diplomatic…

Source: The Times December 21, 2017 01:07 UTC