Sham, Indeed

British Muslims are mostly Sunni, and they have been pillars of the mass anti-war movement ever since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq created it, so no one is sorry to see, simply in itself, the fall of Bashar al-Assad. But no one who has been proved right about Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya can be optimistic for Syria.

Our intervention brought back open air slave markets to Libya, while the Taliban to whom we have bequeathed Afghanistan have banned midwifery, and women speaking outside their homes. Could Abu Mohammad al-Julani and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham do even worse than that? Everything about them suggests that they will.

In the New Years Honours List, Shamima Begum should be made a Dame. Why ever not? And of course Yvette Cooper has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims without having told David Lammy. Previously the Wicked Witch of the Work Capability Assessment, she has never told a Select Committee that there were no journalists in Gaza. She is a nasty piece of work. But unlike him, she is not a buffoon.