2026-05-29
25 分钟The Economist
Hello and welcome to The Intelligence from The Economist.
I'm Jason Palmer.
Today on the show, a parting shot from our outgoing defence editor on the nature of modern war,
and a tribute to the trailblazing congressman Barney Frank.
Eight Palestinians have been killed in Israeli drone attacks across Gaza.
A strike at a community kitchen in...
...skies over Iran black with smoke...
Russia has at long last launched its long-anticipated attack on Ukraine,
striking military posts across the country...
...on a world war in Europe...
The last eight years have been, to put it mildly, busy.
Shashank Joshi is our defence editor and incoming Washington bureau chief.
When I started this role in 2018, the biggest questions were over Donald Trump's handling of North Korea,
and there seemed like a very real risk of war, perhaps even nuclear war, on the Korean Peninsula.
That calmed down, and then of course, we saw the great withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021,
the debacle of American troops leaving in chaotic fashion out of Kabul.
And I do remember thinking at the time, "God, that was busy,
but at least next year will be a little bit calmer."
At the time, Vladimir Putin's armies were slowly building up on the edges of Ukraine,