The way we dealt with the Soviets is the way to deal with Iran

9th March 2007
By Michael A. Leeden

Of the many errors committed by Western governments and their intelligence services in the run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom, none was so grave as a fundamental error of strategic vision: the failure to recognise we would automatically be involved in a regional war, not simply a battle against the regime of Saddam Hussein.

We imagined that Afghanistan was secure and that we could deal with Iraq all by itself. Then, at our convenience, we could move on against the other …