Such a sad thing on the news

Oh that sounds desperately upsetting . Children do suffer so at the hands of adults, don't they?

Children always suffer disproportionately in war. While I have and had no approval of Saddam Hussein, at the same time I wonder how things in Iraq would be now if Tony Blair hadn't coat-tailed George Bush and looked for another "good" war. (He'd already interfered in several wars but they didn't bring in the votes/approval – probably not "good" enough.)

I agree with that absent Conditions under Saddam Hussein were not ideal in our eyes, but surely it was better than it is now? We shall not know, of course, because the country was not as open to the news as it is now, but it does give cause to wonder, doesn't it.

It was Ramadi. Not Tikrit.

Yes. I blame Blair and Bush. If only the clock could be put back.

I watched the news last night and felt hopeless and angry about Bush n Blair and "our" responsibility for contributing to the horrors that are unfolding in that region. I was relieved when parliament voted against bombing in Syria because nothing the western and USA governments have done in that region seems to have contributed positively. Diplomacy ?

Against Isis?!

I think the Americans are going to have to put 'boots on the ground' again. And, God help our young people, we may have to follow. If any politician has the guts. We started it. We can't leave them like this.

In the long run, our intervention doesn't help - in fact it seems to make the situation worse. Look at Libya - the supposed rationale for ousting the Gaddafi regime was humanitarian intervention. Now Libya is a completely lawless state with violent militias vying for power and claiming authority over different areas of the country. The infrastructure has been destroyed and all civilians are in a very perilous situation.

We meddle in other country's affairs at our peril. DH is cynical and says that we only meddle if oil is at stake.

However, I do remember how Saddam Hussein murdered the Kurds and how they were trying to escape with no shoes over the mountains - they were collecting old children's shoes in our local Clark's shop and I remember at the time getting because Customs had seized a huge consignment of fake trainers and burnt them - they could have sent them to the refugees.

You get rid of murderous despots and unleash something more terrible.

Blair and Bush have a lot to answer for.

Diplomacy not "against isis" jingle, I was wondering whether negotiations and diplomacy with the powerful states in that region could do anything to halt the spread of isis. I agree with rose quartz and Eloethan, military intervention not only hasn't helped this region, it's made it more unstable.

I'm afraid to say this but it is something I said many years ago and still believe to be true, in that some parts of the world have to be ruled with an iron fist of some kind. I know that Saddam Hussein was an evil man but the waring factions in his country made it an impossible country to rule and democracy doesn't seem to work. I don't know what the solution is and I'm not saying that a dictatorship is right. I don't understand mans inhumanity to man; as jingle said, I just wanted to somehow reach out to that little boy, pick him up and tuck him up in a warm bed somewhere and make him feel safe. I despair of it all .

It does seem as if tyrants like Saddam and Gaddafi are the way they are for a reason. Western interference doesn't seem to have improved things for anyone.

Tegan it's something my DH and I have often said. We in the UK spent many many generations arriving at the democracy we have today. It's madness to think we can simply topple dictators and impose our system overnight. As has been proven. We do not know what the answer is either, but clearly the Bush/Blair solution was not the right one.

It's good to know someone else felt the same Tegan.