and did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

I was going to talk about this last week, but never quite got around to it. No time like the present, eh? A Basra judge has issued an arrest warrant for two British soldiers after an Iraqi was reportedly killed. The two men, thought to be undercover members of the SAS, had been detained last week, but were freed by UK troops storming the police station, leading to civil unrest and much criticism of Britain's heavy-handed tactics.

Um. They're part of a foreign army of occupation; I don't think they're subject to local law. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that if your country is invaded and you want to send your invaders back from whence they came, it's not quite as simple as popping round to your local magistrate and obtaining a restraining order or an ASBO. Arresting a soldier for murder is patently ridiculous. It's what they do. It's a key part of their job description. What next? Speed cameras on the main road between Basra and Bagdhad? (Can't you just see the headlines? British Army object to speeding fines: "naked revenue generation" said a spokesman. This was stenuously denied by an Iraqi Government spokesman, who protested "This is not about the money. We're only trying to make the roads in Iraq safer, so children only have to deal with the mines and unexploded shells, and not worry about speeding Challenger Tanks and Humvees".)

Imposing rules on war is stupid and ridiculous. The idea that you are allowed to kill someone in one way, but not in another is absurd. War is chaos. You can't try and impose order on it by writing up a set of guidelines that people should follow.

Don't waste your breath objecting to the way that this war in Iraq is being fought. You should be more worried about why we are fighting this war at all, and how quickly we can get out of it.

That we fight any war.