Bush and Blair: Once they were indecisive, now they're not sure

Watching George W Bush and his European playmate trying to rescue American and British Foreign Policy, their own political careers and save a few of the remaining lives in Iraq is like watching a child at Christmas who received the best toy in the world on Christmas morning yet by Boxing Day is happy to sit playing with the empty box.

People all over the world have been asking a simple three letter question about Iraq since Day One - Why?

The reason for Afghanistan was easy to understand, AQ. It was a concentrated effort to find those responsible for 9/11 and other terrorist attacks and bring them to justice but what has been achieved by the 600,000 plus deaths in Iraq apart from committing resources, that could have been best used elsewhere in the region, to a war we can't possibly win? If the original invasion of Iraq was to rid the country of Saddam Hussein then why wasn't a special forces group used combining the expertise and manpower of Mossad, the SAS and the USA's own Special Forces groups?

There's an argument that says if the U.N had any balls it would have allowed the coalition forces in 1991 to get much closer than 80km from Baghdad and remove him then - who you blame for that lack of urgency depends on whether you think the U.N is a good thing or not.

That however is history, Saddam is on trial and getting through judges quicker than George Michael gets through spliffs and the killing in Iraq continues on a daily basis. What began as a civil war is now esclated into a bloodbath where any group in the region that has a grievance against another is pitching up in Iraq spoiling for a fight. The sheer scale of killing has now reached the stage where you could be forgiven for having number blindness, you know that state of mind where numbers merge into one and you forget the human nature of war - 80 killed. What's that, today? This week? Over the weekend?

Iraq isn't the USA's Vietnam of the 21st Century, it's far worse than that, which is ironic in a sense given that the American's went into Vietnam to prevent two countries becoming one under Communist rule and now find themselves trying to bring together disparate groups under one government. In Britain we have also shown a degree of weakness that is embarrassing, blindly following the U.S lead because of historic allegiance's rather than standing back and thinking things through.

It's no good blaming the Americans for funding Saddam back in the day either, true they did sell more than $200 million dollars worth of arms to Iraq during the eighties and nineties but this was still less than 1% of the total arms sold to that country. If you drew up a Venn Diagram with those countries who supplied Iraq with arms in one circle and those who backed Desert Storm in another, the point where they meet would include all the countries mentioned.

Now the coalition forces are faced with the choice between a rock and a hard place, do they allow Iraq to police itself which effectively means allowing the results of the October 2005 election to determine who rules the country - this means that the Shia and Kurdish groups in the country who supported the elections and the results will need support from outside the country. The problem here is that the ongoing violence is being incited and instigated by an amalgam of religious extremists that believe an Islamic Caliphate should rule. Sunnis who have survived from the old regime that ruled under Saddam that want back the power they had, and Iraqi nationalists that are fighting against what they view as a foreign occupation - which is understandable.

Is the solution to ask for help from Syria and Iran? Wow, that's going to be a huge shift in moral and political terms, first you call them one of the most evil regime's in the world then you ask for help and what about Iran, one minute we're going to invade them, the next we're asking them to bring drinks to the party. Syria and Iran are also behind the insurgents that are operating with impunity in Iraq and are responsible for many of the deaths that have occurred, how asking these two countries can help with the overall stability of the region is a good question. Where will that leave relations U.S with Israel? The Iranian President has said on many occasions that he wants Israel wiped off the map, will Israel sit by and watch talks between it's biggest ally and its ideological enemy?

It would be easier to get everybody onside if there was a common goal but in Iraq nobody seems to know what the endgame is, not only is there no road map to peace but the SATnav is buggered as well. How do you agree on anything when you don't have any common interests?

George W Bush isn't alone in taking the flak but the American government has put itself at the head of the table, which in terms of economic and military power is the correct thing to do but we in Britain are as culpable but we tend to stand behind the playground bully shaking our fist at a common enemy rather than standing alone and speaking for ourselves.

We want to see an end to terrorism and attacks on 'soft targets' but this isn't what Iraq is about is it? If invading countries because of suspected terrorist links were the solution then the U.S.A would be on its way to Paraguay wouldn't it? And if countries were invaded because they cause a danger to stability in the region then war against North Korea would be high on the list of 'must do's'

Iraq will have its own form of democracy at one stage but it cannot be imposed on it, you don't ask the mugger who has stabbed your wife to perform life saving surgery on her do you? The US is going to need all its political ducks lined up in a row on this one whether that involves asking for help from traditional friends and foes is irrelevant.

What is obvious is that, come the troop withdrawal, Bush and Blair will have some serious explaining to do to the families of servicemen killed in action in Iraq for fighting a war nobody was sure why they were fighting it. No doubt both will be long gone before that happens and so in true political fashion nobody will take the blame and politicians will be able to stand and use that well worn phrase, "Of course that was during my predecessors time in office."

Whatever happens, this won't have the sort of ending where the screen fades to black and we learn that since making the movie everybody has gone on to greater things.