White House exchange was a masterclass in leadership. During the March 17 meeting, when President Donald Trump dismissed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “no Winston Churchill,” the Irish Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, corrected President Trump twice with calm clarity. He acknowledged Churchill’s role as a great wartime leader but noted that, given Ireland’s history and struggle for independence from the United Kingdom, Churchill’s legacy is viewed through a more complex lens. Mr Martin also defended Starmer, calling him “a very earnest, sound person” and praising his efforts to improve Irish–British relations. In a similar spirit, Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, showed the same composure when he met President Trump despite previous criticism. Moments like these show that leadership is often revealed in how people respond to powerful and controversial figures. One can only hope that other European heads of state and governments will show the same clarity and courage when face...
Whenever powerful countries, like the U.S., talk about regime change, they should think twice about the consequences. Iraq shows how foreign intervention can backfire. Iraq was once a secular, unified country. After the U.S. invasions and regime change — especially in 2003 — its institutions collapsed, and sectarian politics became dominant. Instead of restoring a secular state, the new system became organized around religious identity and divided factions, making politics unstable and fragmented. Today, 35 years after the first U.S. attack in 1991, Iraq still cannot form a stable government because competing blocs cannot agree, and the country hosts several foreign military presences — the U.S., Turkey, NATO, and armed groups backed by regional powers. The U.S. embassy has come under repeated attacks, and the U.S. government is urging its citizens to leave Iraq for their safety. As the old Arabic saying goes: “The winds do not always blow in the direction of the ships” — a stark ...