I know I’m meant to be working relentlessly on my book. But I just wanted to break off briefly, to draw people’s attention to this very fine piece on Afghanistan by Christina Lamb. It’s very well written and moving in parts. But I also found its analysis compelling - not least, because Lamb has been visiting Afghanistan on-and-off for many years, and was, until recently, a strong supporter of expanding the war.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention. I joined the FT as chief foreign affairs commentator in 2006, after a 15-year career at The Economist which included stints as a correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington. I write a weekly column on foreign affairs, which appears in the paper on Tuesdays. Occasionally my FT colleagues contribute posts to this blog.
Geoff Dyer is the FT's China bureau chief. He has been a correspondent in Shanghai and in Brazil and has also covered the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries from London.
Roula Khalaf is the FT's Middle East editor. She has worked for the FT since 1995, first as North Africa correspondent, then Middle East correspondent and most recently as Middle East editor. Before joining the FT, she was a staff writer for Forbes magazine in New York.
James Blitz is the FT's defence and diplomatic editor. He has been the FT's political editor, based in London, and Rome bureau chief. James is a former Moscow bureau chief for the Sunday Times.
Alan Beattie is the FT's world trade editor. He has previously been economics leader writer and spent two years in Washington DC as chief US economics correspondent. Before joining the FT, Alan was an economist at the Bank of England.
Victor Mallet is the FT's Madrid correspondent. He is a former Asia editor of the FT, and, in more than 20 years at the organisation, has also worked in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 1990 he escaped from Kuwait after being one of the few foreign correspondents there when Iraq invaded.
Stefan Wagstyl is the FT's eastern Europe editor, co-ordinating coverage of the region. He has also been the FT's bureau chief in Tokyo and New Delhi.
Comment: To comment, please register with FT.com. Register for free here. Please also read the FT's comments policy here.
Contact: You can write to Gideon using this email format: firstname.surname@ft.com
Time: UK time is shown on Gideon's posts.
Follow the blog: Links to the Twitter and RSS feeds are at the top of the blog.
Schedule: Gideon's column appears in the FT on Tuesdays and you can comment on it using this blog.
FT.com latest world news
Selected FT blog posts
Back to Gideon Rachman