Airstrip One

All our army

According to "security expert" Michael Yardley regarding the security situation in Iraq:

It has been suggested that these are random attacks but they are more than that, although we can't be sure who is responsible - Jihadists, remnants of Saddam Hussein's intelligence or Fedayeen militia. You need at least half a million troops to police this country effectively, which we do not have. Either the intelligence assessment was deficient or George Bush and Tony Blair were willing to take an unacceptable degree of risk in this campaign.

Do your sums. Britain currently provides around a fifth of the manpower. Britain's total army strength is under 100 000 (and remember that includes training, rest, Afghanistan, Falklands, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and the three we can spare to guard our shores). Even if one didn't accept Yardley's prognosis, which I don't, we would be zapped out.

In more honest times Blair would have simply resigned.