Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell

On this episode I discuss recent allegations of war crimes committed by UK Special Forces in Afghanistan. These featured in a recent BBC Panorama episode which can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001ykkf/panorama-special-forces-i-saw-war-crimesMy guest on this episode is Professor Matthew Ford, a military expert based at the Swedish Defence University. We covered these allegations, wider questions of counter-insurgency and what it means for modern warfare as the western alliance faces existential challenges.You can find Matthew Ford here https://bsky.app/profile/warmatters.bsky.socialYou can find me here https://arthursnell.substack.comYou can find our new Bookshop.org affiliate shop here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines

On this episode I speak to Iona Craig, the veteran Yemen expert and journalist about recent events, including the UK's decision to join the US in carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis.Iona mentioned an earlier episode of this podcast with Laura Cretney, which is worth listening to if you are interested in Yemen. You can find it here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/behind-the-lines-with-arthur-snell/id1704344656?i=1000643933101Please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and follow me on Bluesky@snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank.

I spoke to Romeo Kokriatski, presenter of the Ukraine without the Hype podcast about recent events in his country, including the Trump betrayal.We mentioned Operation Sky Shield, a plan which you can read about here.

What does the climate crisis mean for sovereignty in a world where certain countries face existential risk? I spoke to Taukiei Kitara, a native of Tuvalu, about the case of low-lying Pacific Islands, including his native Tuvalu.

Read RUSI piece The Rise of Ransomware as a National Security Threat: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/organised-cybercrime-rise-ransomware-national-security-threat  Read RUSI piece Beyond the Bottom Line: The Societal Impact of Ransomware: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/beyond-bottom-line-societal-impact-ransomware