7th December:

The Iraq Study Group yesterday released its long awaited report into US policy and strategy in Iraq and, unsurprisingly, concluded that current tactics simply are not working. You could almost hear the sound of fingers being gnawed back to the knuckle at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Quote of the day came from Channel 4’s US correspondent when queried about the implications of the report. “Even if Bush doesn’t understand this report” he said, “enough people around him will, and will persuade him that change is now inevitable”. Priceless.

Americans are a funny bunch. Apologies to any Americans reading this (yes, I know it’s unlikely) but your congenial host has always had a bit of an issue with our colonial cousins. Their nation is geographically vast and many of them are neither particularly well-educated nor well-travelled. These factors combined mean that their outlook is sometimes insular and somewhat skewed. Don’t get me wrong, this is not some “what have the Romans ever done for us” diatribe, but there does often seem to be an arrogance and certainty about the American worldview that is, I wager, a little misguided.

I personally dislike the idea of forcing your ideology on someone else whether they want it or not. Democracy, most people would agree, is a good thing. Capitalism likewise, albeit with certain caveats. However, I do feel a little uncomfortable when I hear Bush talk of bringing freedom and democracy to the oppressed peoples of the world. Terrorist attacks on any country are never justifiable, but many Americans believe that The Terrible Events Of Nine Eleven™ were perpetrated by fanatics who were in some way jealous of America – jealous of the American way of life, of the social freedoms enjoyed by its citizens, of the liberal and egalitarian culture that it promotes. I think this is a flawed view.

If anything, the attacks were conducted by people who probably hated America for its arrogant foreign policy, its bloated self-importance and its support of a particular Zionist regime in the Middle East. Ironic, then, that yesterday’s report stresses the need for engagement with Syria and Iran, a lasting peaceful settlement for Palestinians and a wholesale diplomatic charm offensive across the entire region.

Shame we weren’t having this debate 30 years ago.