Five years on, the hard lessons that we must learn from Iraq

A LOUSY LEADER FROM THE OBSERVER

"......The consequences are grave, and not just for Iraq. It will colour the decision that future leaders take when they contemplate using military power for any purpose other than self-defence. It is a blow to the idea of 'liberal intervention'. But does that blow have to be fatal?

An optimistic account of what has happened in Iraq is still possible. It starts with the view that the country is no longer ruled by Saddam Hussein, a despot with a proven record of genocide. It is a democracy, at least in so far as ordinary people have chosen their own government. They defied suicide bombers to vote for a better future.......

We must tread carefully. Whatever the tragic consequences of the Iraq war, we must learn from them, and when the circumstances are right, not flinch from using all the power at our disposal. We can be sure in the knowledge that there will be causes worth fighting for in the future."