For those who aren’t insane with hatred of Amerikkka and George Bush, at least the moral case for removing Saddam is apparently compelling.

Assos Hardi, the editor of Hawalati, the liberal newspaper in Sulaimania, was more mathematical in his appraisal. He said: “How many people do you think will die if America attacks Saddam? It will probably be less than the number of people he kills in a single month.”

As the drums of war beat ever louder, I am still unsure of the strategic wisdom of opening a second front in the war against terror. But of the moral rectitude of such a course, there can be no doubt.