THERE are leaders and there are followers. "A leader is a person whom others are willing to follow for what they believe to be their common good."

Tony Blair has a lot to answer for over the totally predictable Iraq fiasco.

When I was called out with my sappers to investigate a "suspicious object" when serving in Jerusalem in 1947, we were accompanied by a platoon of infantry who protected us.

Unlike L/Cpl Keys of the Royal Military Police and his comrades, who were murdered by Iraqi dissidents.

It would appear there were not enough troops on the ground to facilitate appropriate military procedures.

My wife and I were greatly relieved when our fourth son, a TA captain and professional nurse, returned from a short tour in Iraq recently.

We read reports that no less than 150,000 Iraqis have lost their lives, plus more than 1,000 American service personnel, and then we have our British losses.

Yet British armed forces are to be reduced, county regiments merged, the Royal Navy to be even further decimated and the RAF too.

An intelligent politician not only gives careful thought to policy development but even greater careful thought to the possible outcomes of policy decisions.

Iraq and its aftermath were totally predictable.

As Shakespeare said: "You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

TOM WAREING

Jays Close

Winyates Green