There are thus great swathes of the past where understanding is more important and reputable than judgement, because the principal actors performed in line with the ideas and values of that time, not of ours.

No military timetable should compel war when a successful outcome, namely a disarmed Iraq may be feasible without war, for example by allowing more time to the UN inspectors.

History provides no precise guidelines.

Men like Hitler and Stalin and their immediate lieutenants cannot plead in defence of their actions that these were justified by the accepted values of that time.

A genuinely democratic Iraq might well act as a fresh spur.

Silence is regarded as a sort of sin now, and it has to be filled with a lot of gossip and soundbites.

It is normal for politicians in all countries to profess themselves the pupils of history, anxious to draw the right lessons from her teaching.