BB, did you read the last sentence of Ake's post of 02:00 PM today? he said..

"Does anyone see any difference between the murderous Saddam regime and the kind "liberators" who safeguard democracy and the children of Iraq.....Ake "

I don't think anyone is holding up Iraqi insurgents as angels of mercy. As you know key UN personnel including Kofi Annan, the secretary general, and Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, disputed the legal status of the invasion of Iraq under international law. This means invading forces (the UK, US, Australian troops and others)are theoretically responsible for war crimes merely by the fact of being the instigators, the invaders.

However the behaviour of the different forces in Iraq is marked - the British soldiers have a reputation for fighting within accepted rules of war.

Even President Bush has accepted that American troops need training in moral and ethical standards. An article in the Guardian today comments that General George Casey - the highest-ranking US general in Iraq - ordered the training two days after US troops shot dead a pregnant mother and her cousin as they travelled to a maternity hospital. Lieutenant general Peter Chiarelli, the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, commented:

"As military professionals, it is important that we take time to reflect on the values that separate us from our enemies," he said. "The challenge for us is to make sure the actions of a few do not tarnish the good work of the many."

exactly the comment Ake was making.