Teribus contends that the invasion of Iraq seemed "a good idea at the time". Don't put words into my mouth Akenaton, what I actually said was the invasion of Iraq was fully justified at the time - Not "a good idea at the time".

Just to be accurate here Akenaton, "..all the flawed intelligence" you refer to was, "served up" by the UN Weapons Inspectors (UNSCOM), including Ritter and Blix in January 1999, NOT by the US/UK govts in 2003. What the intelligence agencies of a great many countries had to do with that information was evaluate it. In doing so they all reached the same conclusion albeit to varying degrees, that is how UN SC Resolution 1441 got unanimous support. At no time was anybody lied too.

As to "mangled facts", at least the points I attempt to make in any discussion are based upon facts, not supposition, not pure opinion, never on pure invention.

"Fledgling democracy my arse....." Really Akenaton Kofi Annan and quite a few others were quite impressed with the turn-out at the polls on all three occasions when the Iraqi people showed the insurgents and terrorists exactly where they could stick their death threats.

Not wishing to point out the obvious Akenaton but - "The political game ANYWHERE is ALWAYS about power.....". Oh and due to our intervention, the Iraqi people got the chance exercise their right to elect their own government, now whether that choice ultimately leads to an Islamist Government or not remains to be seen - True?

Now this is the bit I have trouble in understanding when it comes to those who express the wish that Saddam Hussein should have remained in power. It is this fallacious idea that there would always be a "weakened" and "contained" Saddam Hussein. Moved by Russia and by France pressure was being put on at the UN to end sanctions. On the grounds that they were ineffective (Russia and France were extremely well placed to know about that, as they were largest offenders in breaking those sanctions) and that Saddam Hussein's Iraq no longer posed a threat to the region (all this was taking place before the UNMOVIC teams returned to Iraq) With the sanctions lifted it is not unreasonable to predict that Saddam Hussein would not remain "weakened" and "contained" for long. Had there been no intervention and with sanctions lifted, as they no doubt would have been by now, with Saddam Hussein in power. What do you think Saddam Hussein's reaction would have been to Iran's nuclear programme?

Subsequent to the invasion of Iraq and including the UN fiasco/human tragedy that is Darfur, the world at the moment is a safer place than it has ever been since the end of the Second World War - Not my opinion Akenaton, those are the findings of a UN funded study carried out jointly by the University of Vancouver and the University of Uppsala.

What threat is there from a resurgent Islamic block in the Middle East, that does not already exist and has existed since 1972, the year that Tosser Arafat invented international terror.