Not only the people around him, McGrath, but many Americans beyond that, and many politicians and people here in Britain. I fear that forcing countries like Pakistan and the CIS states to get involved will destabilise those countries in ways we can't imagine.

Some countries - notably Turkey, with the second biggest army in NATO - struggle to hold the line against Islamic fundamentalism. Brute force may well force decent Muslims into the hard-line fundamentalist camp, tipping the balance. It is not difficult to envisage Balkans-type scenarios erupting all over the middle east in the coming months.

Given that military action is inevitable,the best hope surely is that it can be done in the name of the UN. To strike in the name of NATO would simply polarise even more the differences between Arab/CIS states and the west. But if it was to be done through the UN, it would seem reasonable that the USA looks again at some of the international treaties it has hitherto scorned - not least, the crying need for a universally respected court of international justice.

Methinks it will come down to the USA going it alone with token support from Britain and a few others. In which case they will reap what they sow.