Special Assistant

The erstwhile Special Assistant to President Reagan, agreeing with Ken Livingstone that NATO has served no good purpose in a generation and is now just a social club.

Turkey is in NATO, so why the hell are we?

Those wishing to use the situation in Madaya as an excuse to wage war on Assad should note that the matter is being raised in the House of Commons by a man with an impeccable record on these issues, Roger Godsiff of the Lanchester Forum.

That old stalwart of the St Ermins Group would be a superb figure to have advising Emily Thornberry's and Ken Livingstone's review of defence policy, as would his Lanchester Forum colleagues, Bryan Gould, David Drew and Kerry Pollard.

As would Simon Jenkins, or Peter Oborne, or Michael Portillo, or John Baron, or Crispin Blunt, or Peter Hitchens, or Mark Almond, or Richard Wellings, or John Laughland, or Major General Patrick Cordingley, or the former Michael Ancram.

Or, looking internationally, Doug Bandow, former Special Assistant to President Reagan.