War on Iraq runs the risk of turning the Middle East into an inexhaustible recruiting ground for anti- western terrorism.

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.

We must admit that history is enjoyable to a large extent because it enables us to pass judgment on the past.

The tragedy of 9/11 galvanised the American superpower into action, leaving us in Europe divided in its wake.

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

Margaret Thatcher, growing up in a bombed and battered Britain, derived a distrust which has grown with the years not just of Germany but of all continental Europe.

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