Returning guest David Murrin begins by considering US President Donald Trump’s gambits in the Middle East as he seeks to prevail over Iran. In a discussion with host Iain Ballantyne - recorded before Iran and the USA reverted to a state of war (in July) - David reflected on the Trump pattern of seeking peace deals followed by more bombing.
These are the US President’s ‘peace bombs,’ as David describes them, with the Iran War and struggle for the Strait of Hormuz turning out like ‘Suez on steroids.’
The consequences of President Trump’s approach to allies, his treatment of foes and overall strategy are also covered, before turning to Europe’s laziness in defence and the military spending laggard that is the United Kingdom.
David also explains what he learned about modern warfare during a recent visit to Ukraine and how Kyiv’s forces have chosen a lateral response to the Russian aggressors rather than linear.
According to David a future threat for Europeans to be concerned about will be China’s navy in the High North and he cautions that - whatever the threat is in the great waters of the Atlantic and Arctic - drones are not the entire solution.
In the meantime, so David contends, Britain and other NATO nations are already at war with Russia but only now are they waking up to that fact.
Turning to Royal Navy, David weighs up the push for the ‘hybrid navy’ and ‘evolution’ versus ‘revolution’ at a difficult time in which the UK appears to have lost touch with its naval identity. He considers the British fleet has been destroyed by politicians since the late 1990s, and that they have let down both the nation and NATO.
During this lively episode David also gives his perspective on what China has learned from the Iran War and more.
© David Murrin 2026. All images courtesy of Getty Images. |