“The Cost of Inaction Is Paid in Blood”: Peter Apps Sounds the Alarm
On NATO's precarious edge, Peter Apps declared with unnerving clarity: 'This is the riskiest period in modern history, and complacency invites catastrophe.’
The high-ceilinged grandeur of London’s National Liberal Club was thick with the kind of anticipation reserved for speakers who have something important to say. This December evening, the Defence and Security Circle, a growing platform for military and strategic discourse, hosted Peter Apps, journalist, author, and chronicler of modern conflict. The room was packed—military leaders, academics, and eager listeners drawn by the reputation of a man who has spent decades reporting from the frontlines of global crises. Apps, whose first full-length book Deterring Armageddon: A Biography of NATO1 debuted to critical acclaim earlier this year, took to the lectern with the composed authority of someone who understands the weight of his words.
With his characteristic mixture of anecdote and analysis, Apps began his speech by surveying a world on edge. “This year, the world truly woke up to the threat of a major global conflict,” he said, setting the tone for an evening of unsettling, yet urgent reflections on geopolitics. From Ukraine’s battered frontlines to the escalating tensions around Taiwan, from Middle Eastern flashpoints to the corridors of Western power, Apps painted a picture of a planet edging closer to confrontation.

The Global Flashpoints
Apps’ analysis spanned continents, drawing attention to the hotspots shaping today’s geopolitical landscape. He pointed to Ukraine, where optimism from last year’s defence of Kyiv has waned under the weight of artillery barrages and a grinding war of attrition.
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