I don’t think the situation in Iraq is as bad as that of Zimbabwe, as in the Middle East they have shown that they can rule themselves e.g. Iran, Saudi Arabia, whereas in Africa it seems they can’t. This might look controversial to read but all the evidence shows it, look at Zimbabwe now, South Africa formerly, Congo, and so many others. The government however, is playing the smart game in not commiting to anything in Zimbabwe as it is already in a precarious position in which an already politically apathetic electorate might see that a lot of this governments time is spent dealing with foreign affairs rather than domestic affairs such as crime and the economy.

On the issue of Thatcher, I think that he might well have said this because he now realises the truth – that it wasn’t the years of Thatcher that led to the breakdown of society in which some parts of the country are in ruin, but rather the ‘good intentions’ of the left, which has been too soft on too many issues, and with the creation of the welfare state ushered in a culture of dependancy in which too many in Britain are willing to fall straight back onto the benefits system if they fail at the first hurdle in making something of themselves. I live in the North East and there is evidence of this everywhere.

On Obama, I just hope that the US wise up and see him for what he is, however, this is becoming increasingly less likely in a country in which the election system is money based, and he has all the funds coming in.

Saddam was a swanky, arrogant dictator who played cat and mouse with the wrong cat. Having said this as time has gone on I am more convinced that Iraq was part of a game plan and Blair was more of a pawn in a game of political chess. I think he was naieve, I think he was misled and indeed at times misled his own people. I think in a sad way he wanted to emulate Thatcher. The conviction politician launching a war, stirring national pride, reviving their popularity and going on to win a landslide election.

We can’t blame him for trying. The difference is Iraq is an ideological and theological pressure cooker. 30 years of supressed religious and political expression was always going to blow up and they failed to sufficiently plan for the eventual outcome. Having said this I think you are right that the Americans thought their numbers would displace the need for tactics so perhaps they thought their numbers could supress any tension.

We might have failed to plan for the power vaccum that has emmerged from the fall of Saddam but I worry that a President Obama has failed to plan for the vaccum that would be created if we all left Iraq. That would be far worse and we would follow one big mistake with an even bigger one with even greater consequences. We now know Iraq was a mistake, but we have to get on with it and put it right, not run away from it.

Obama is weak, he is not a leader he is a follower. As these recent weeks have shown he is flip flopping all over the place and he is incapable of leadership. One day he wont have a bunch of people behind him able to make clever witty speeches for him to deliver, one day his charisma wont be able to save him and one day he will have to make the decisions, not only make them but face the consequences of the decisions he makes. The consequences of a rushed withdrawl from Iraq will be huge and no clever, well delivered speech will get him out of that.

Also on another issue I found it hillarious that the Liberal democrat candidate in the Glasgow East bi election, Ian Robertson said of the plans for Thatchers state funeral: “She has contributed a great deal and has served her country and I think it’s fitting we recognise that.” I wonder how that will go down with the locals!!!

I think the main problem with the Iraq war, and this will problem sound jealous or something of the likes, was that we weren’t in charge. I fundamentally believe that the war was the right thing to do, but that we did it in the wrong because America took the lead and went for numbers rather than tactics.

I agree that Obama is wrong, not just for the US, but also for the world. It is incredibly dangerous to have anyone too left wing in charge of a country, and without saying anything too controversial, I think history shows this. Obama as President would be like having George Galloway as PM – a lunatic leftie in charge of a superpower.

Obama however is a snake in the grass. A protectionist, a dangerous left winger and a wimp. The surge in Iraq is working, I dont care what people say about that, it is. I remember a time when suicide bombings in Iraq were a daily occurance… now I cant remember the last one. (I think it was June 17th) Obviously the situation is far from perfect, but real progress is being made. This next stage in the Iraq saga will separate the men from the boys. Will the next president stick it out and do his moral and political duty, or will he run away because it ‘isnt his mess’. It may not be his mess personally, but it is the mess of ALL the American people who supported that war and who re-elected the president that took them in to that war. The Americans and the Brits need to take their responsibility seriously.