I like old adages. The one that seems to be the most apposite to the reaction of Mr Bush to the civil war in Iraq is 'When you are in a hole first stop digging'.

The provision of a further 20,000 troops (when according to expert military opinion 50,000 would not effect an acceptable solution) is the reaction of some one who doesn't appear to recognise the depth and size of the hole he is in. Mr Bush is clearly in denial.

The continuing or increased presence of foreign troops in Iraq only serves to exacerbate the problem. It is in every ones interest that we withdraw. Once the Iraq Government has decided on the solution to the debacle (that Messrs Bush & Blair have to a large part created) it is to be hoped that the peaceful aid we provide over the next three years will at least equal the amount we have spent in the past three creating the problem.