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Bartle Bull has been brave, or foolish, enough to call the “turn” on the Iraq conflict

editorial

Many of the 50 writers who replied to our invitation to provide ideas for Gordon Brown’s British statement of values made the familiar point that most ofthe relevant political values are universal, or at least European, and thus not distinctly British. But no one seems to have noticed that Brown wants a British statement of values, not a statement of British values. And, in any case, can’t there be distinctively British ways to state universal values? Unless you believe, with Michael Fry, that British values can’t exist because the values ofa big country like England must in the nature of things

clash with the values ofthe small Celtic nations around it.

Bartle Bull is no stooge ofthe US military; indeed, his best contacts in Iraq are in the circles of the radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But he has been brave, or foolish, enough to call the “turn”in Iraq, arguing that all the big political questions are now settled: the country will stay together, it will be a democracy, it will not face all-out civil war, the majority Shias will dominate the new Iraq (as they should) and the key Sunni factions now accept this and are ready to join the system. His claim will attract shock and derision from some quarters; indeed, it has already caused ructions inside the Prospect office. And there is much to argue with. Even accepting that this is not a piece about whether war was justified in the first place or about the mistakes in its conduct, Bull is too sanguine about the continuing violence. Even ifhe is right that it is no longer “political,”there is still enough violence to make life a misery in parts of the country and contribute to a stream of refugees heading for the exit. Bull also skates over what kind of democracy Iraq is, or is likely to become. Outside ofthe Kurdish north, it is at best a somewhat theocratic one; and in parts of the south it is already hard to be a secular Iraqi. And can one really be so sure that order can be restored without the emergence of some sort of proAmerican Saddam? That said, Bull’s hard Kissingerian eye on the underlying forces in Iraq is a welcome change from the shrill moralism ofso much press coverage. And perhaps the most shocking thing of all about his analysis is that it seems so novel—after all, isn’t something like this what the British military and, indeed, government, are supposed to believe?

Sad news from inside Prospect : after 12 years ofservice to the magazine, Derek Coombs, our chairman and largest shareholder, is stepping down from active involvement in the management ofthe company. Back in the mid to late 1990s, before the magazine had a chance to chisel out a distinctive place for itself, Derek was the only backer who saw the point. Without his help and support there would be no magazine today. He will remain in close touch with Prospect and will be honoured on our masthead as president and co-founder. We all thank him and wish him the best.

“I’m looking for Muhammad”