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Iraq

I thank my hon. Friend who, as usual, has set me an exam question in some detail. Thankfully on the Front Bench, one is allowed to cheat a bit by discussing things with one’s fellow Ministers. Yes, I can give my hon. Friend that specific assurance. I can also refer to his general question about the democratic control of the security forces. That is very important. I discuss the matter from time to time with Mr. Al-Dulaimi, the Iraqi Defence Minister. We do what we can to ensure that we are training Iraqi security forces—the army—not only in martial arts but in human rights and the treatment of prisoners. We will continue to do that, and they are developing apace in that direction. These things are not easy after decades under Saddam in which, let us remember, members of some of the parties that are agreeing and bringing in the Sunni had their women, children and innocent civilians gassed and burned from the inside out by mustard gas. The Shi’a have been killed, starved, had their water removed and been massacred in their thousands—in some ways in their hundreds of thousands—so to see people come together in the armed forces and apply a level of objectivity under democratic control is a major step forward.