“Our departure from Iraq ends a dismal period in our military history” writes Michael Portillo, former (Conservative) UK Defence Secretary, in this week’s excellent edition of The Spectator (no, I’m not a Tory, I just admire good writing and in mitigation, I don’t like the cover). I’m pleased to recommend this article because it’s the first to convince me that the ‘surge’ worked – at least as much by luck than judgment. Portillo’s account of a few days in Basra with the rump of the dignified but betrayed British forces is eloquent, measured and convincing, unlike the mixture of blind faith and Brown lies which emanated from the government spin factory over the sad, sorry period of our fractured engagement, characterised by a diplomatic cough and clumsy withdrawal reminiscent of the Imperialist antics which saw the creation of Iraq in the first instance. In a frank appraisal of where and how this campaign failed, Portillo quotes the Iraqi forces commander as criticising the US and UK government’s blatant refusal to count Iraqi casualties, plus their discrediting of independent authorities who tried to perform this important function (cf Oxford Research Group and Iraq BodyCount). I applaud the honesty of this piece, would like to disagree with some of it but defer to someone who has been there, shares the sensible view that whacking civilian populations, especially on false pretexts, is wrong and believes that policy and military strategy should not have been dictated by the likes of Alastair Campbell. Read the Spectator article here and follow up with Matt D’Ancona’s intriguing interview with the increasingly bonkers Gordon Brown (celebrating Britishness/British values, even though global, skint and obviously daft as a brush) while you’re there. Don’t expect many takers in Iraq, though, Gordon, or among our returning troops, for that matter.

John J Kelly