No TIA, Barry's contention was that:

- Iraq was the most cultured, educated of the societies in the region.

- Iraq was the pride of the mid east, that was before we got there!

All I have done in my response to those statements is outline how "idyllic" it was in reality - I leave it to the likes of Barry and yourself to expound upon it at greater length.

Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein - the pride of the middle-east - like hell it was.