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AT MOMENTS of global crisis, there's little more comforting than imagining a time when the world is a better, safer place. Why not try it at home? Put the terror of chemical attacks and suicide bombers aside, and visualise your ancient self sitting serenely in an armchair with an eight-year-old grandchild on your knee. As the two of you suck merrily away on the Werther's Originals, the little sweetheart raises her latest school project. "You're very old, Grandpa," she says, "and you must remember the Great War of 2003 in Iraq. So Miss Smethurst said I should ask you how it all began." "Well, Blanket," you reply, "if memory serves, it all happened like this..." Throughout history, the scene's been played out a million times. In the 50s, grandparents told how the assassination, in Sarajevo in 1914, of the Archduke Ferdinand ignited the inferno of World War One all across Europe. In the 80s, Blitz veterans will have reminisced about how Hitler's invasion of Poland finally forced Neville Chamberlain to declare war. But what, in 40 years, will we identify as the moment that made war on Baghdad utterly inevitable? "Well, Blanket, if memory serves, it happened like this... "There was this American called Colin Powell, who went to New York and told the United Nations about this wicked man called Saddam Hussein who wanted to kill everyone with horrible weapons." It is the irritating way of children to prefer specifics to waffle, and Blanket's no exception. "But, Grandpa," she says, "what was the evidence?" "Er, there were photographs taken from space..." "But Miss Smet-hurst said that was all old stuff everyone knew about anyway." "Well, yes... but there was also talk of the Iraqis lying about what weapons they had." "But Miss Smethurst says everyone knew about that for ages, too. So why did we go to war in 2003? What was the proof?" It's at this point that you dig out the yellowing old Daily Mirror from February 6, 2003.
Approximate Word count = 1278
Approximate Pages = 5.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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