Today, delegates attending day two of the Meadfa conference in Jordan heard from former BBC journalist, author and commentator Tim Sebastian who presented a comprehensive geopolitical overview of the Middle East, and discussed ways in which to combat Isis.

 

After a lively gala evening, which included a performance from a troupe of traditional Jordanian dancers and musicians, proceedings on day two were understandably delayed.

 

The hard task of rousing the audience on the morning of day two fell on the two moderators TFWA’s John Rimmer and The Moodie Report’s Dermot Davitt who introduced the day’s first speaker – and delegates were certainly not disappointed.

 

After giving his broad overview of the geopolitical landscape in the Gulf and neighbouring countries Sebastian moved on to discuss the world’s reaction to recent terror attacks.

 

He referred to comments made recently by Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, about preposterous proposals to register Muslims in the US and to monitor Mosques. “Tolerance is quick to evaporate and hysteria quick to take its place,” Sebastian curtly remarked, whilst mentioning the rise of right-wing anti-immigrant parties in Europe.

 

Perhaps most illuminating was the anecdotal evidence he shared of various conflicts that have gripped the Middle East in recent years, mentioning Beirut and Israel in particular.

 

He spoke of the uprising in Egypt, which saw the country spiral rapidly out of control before submitting to a military coup. He then talked about the Arab Spring, which he says has, among other things, “created mass graves across the regions and millions and millions of refugees”.

 

Moving on to more recent political movements he jokingly remarked that good maps are hard to find in Russia these days, but said Putin had at least shown great resolve and commitment regarding Syria. But perhaps this is unsurprising considering the age-old mantra ‘war is always good business.’

 

[His comments were disturbingly relevant considering today’s incident of a Russian warplane shot down after entering Turkish airspace.]

 

He said that it was the Financial Times that had rather depressingly pointed out that if the world was to become more insecure it would be an awful lot richer – “conflict has done little to dampen markets,” said Sebastian.

 

Later on he talked about the importance of preserving the free press and pointed out that only four African countries are afforded this liberty. “People don’t value free speech in the way they used to…Privacy and free speech is so undervalued…The public needs to stand up for the free press.”

 

He also spoke of the nature of the world’s biggest enemy; Isis. “The enemy is certainly amorphous in the world today,” he said, at the same time suggesting that back in the ‘old days’ [he referenced the Cold War period] we knew who the bad guys and good guys were.

 

He was also asked by moderator John Rimmer if boots on the ground was the only way to defeat Isis. “Part of the resolution is boots on the ground, but whose boots?”

 

He said that interference from the west in Iraq and Afghanistan hadn’t done much good and said he feared this might just be perpetuated in Syria. He said that the world underestimated the appeal of Isis to Muslims all over the world; to join the ‘winning side’. “These radicalised Muslims are putting two fingers up to the world’s super powers,” he said.