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

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

But Germany will always suffer, I fear, from the intensely dramatic character of the crimes of the Third Reich.

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.

Margaret Thatcher was fearful of German unification because she believed that this would bring an immediate and formidable increase of economic strength to a Germany which was already the strongest economic partner in Europe.

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

Diplomacy is unfashionable in the world of knee-jerk reaction and the dogmatic sound bite on television.