Now Chilcot gets the blame...

Channel 4 trailing their seven o'clock news tonight with the (bad) taster '...did the Chilcott inquisitors finally prove they are not up to the job?'

They are disappointed of course that a distinguished Iraq War inquiry panel apparently failed to land a finger on Tony Blair in his six? hours of evidence.

From what I saw, Blair showed today what I've always believed: he's not a liar and made a difficult decision based on the facts presented to him - a decision backed by the first-ever vote in the House of Commons to send British fighting troops.

Wouldn't be surprised to hear calls for ANOTHER enquiry into the Iraq war, even before Chilcott reports. And then another one after that if the next one doesn't come up with the answers some people and some media seem to demand.

Seems to me there's been more official enquiries and more public scrutiny of the decision to take on the evil murdering tyrant Saddam Hussain - who used WMD on his own people - than any other conflict in history

That includes two world wars and, incidentally, the 1980s Falklands War, which I recall happened after Margaret Thatcher sold off our ice-ships and gave the Argentinians all the signals that we'd take no action to defend the Falklands - in contrast to a few years earlier when then Labour PM Jim Callaghan sent a much tougher signal to warn off General Galtieri...

UPDATE: The 2010 Question: Tony Blair put his decision to deal with Saddam Hussain in 2003 in clear perspective today when he suggested his critics should think about the 2010 question rather than the 2003 question...

What do you think the monster Saddam Hussain would be doing today if Tony Blair had lost his nerve and not taken the action he did?

Part-time soldier, full-time hero...

Delighted to hear that a TA soldier is to be awarded the prestigious George Cross after hurling himself on a grenade in Afghanistan to save his comrades.

As a former range conducting officer in the Territorial Army, responsible for training soldiers on live grenades, I've seen the horrendous damage that such weapons can inflict.

More to the point, Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher would have also known that as he felt the pressure of a trip-wire on his shin which pulled the pin from a lethal Taliban grenade, he had less than four seconds to access the dire situation, weigh up his options, and take decisive action.

He instinctively shouted 'GRENADE' to warn his comrades and dived on the grenade. Then had the presence of mind to realise that the backpack of kit he was wearing might absorb some of the impact. So flipped over on his back and waited to meet his maker.

His bravery almost certainly saved his own life - and the lives of three other Royal Marines he was patrolling with in Helmand Province at a suspected Taliban bomb factory.

Amazingly, Lance Corporal Croucher survived with a nose-bleed, temporary deafness and bruising. But he refused medical assistance, and turned what could have been catastrophe to advantage, setting an ambush for the Taliban who would come to investigate the the explosion, instigating a firefight which saw a Taliban fighter taken out.

For me, the professionalism of Lance Corporal Croucher demonstrates the extraordinary value of the Territorial Army, which celebrates 100 years of distinguished service to the nation this year.

Since 2003, some 15,000 British reservist soldiers have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting shoulder-to shoulder with our regular soldiers in some of the most ferocious close-quarter action since the Second World War.

Lance Corporal Croucher's action is also a tribute to the training of the Royal Marines - in my opinion the finest soldiers in the British Army and arguably anywhere in the world.

Fittingly, Lance Corporal Croucher's civilian job when not serving with 40 Commando Royal Marines, is running a risk assessment company.

His story had Radio 2 presenter Sarah Kennedy overcome with tears as she highlighted the bravery of Lance Corporal Croucher.

Sadly, as news of the medal was released, we were again reminded of the ferocity of the fighting in Afghanistan with the death of another British soldier.

Support our local heroes...

With Gordon Brown visiting British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, our local paper has launched a special appeal to make sure local service personnel are not forgotten this Christmas.

The Stamford Mercury devoted its front page to an appeal for people here in south Lincolnshire to support British troops.

With Wittering and Luffenham military bases close by, many families locally will be watching today's news from Afghanistan of some of the fiercest fighting to date with more than a passing interest.

And don't forget the part-time professionals from my old TA unit on London Road, Peterborough who have been serving Queen and Country in both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BREAKING NEWS: British troops pull out of Basra City...

Tonight's news that British troops willpull out of Basra City over the next few days will no doubt intensify fever for an autumn General Election...