TODAY is a day of shame for the British military as it declares the Iraqi city of Basra, with a stricken population of 600,000, a "military target".

You will not read or hear those words in the establishment media that claims to speak for Britain.

But they are true. With Basra, shame is now our signature, forged by Blair and Bush.

Having destroyed its water and power supplies, cut off food supply routes and having failed to crack its human defences, they are now preparing to lay siege to Iraq's second city which is more than 40 per cent children.

the Pentagon’s response can only be seen as an implied threat to other reporters who are endeavoring to provide objective and accurate coverage of the US assault and its impact on the Iraqi population.

This is not the first time that such a message has been delivered. When the Pentagon first unveiled its plan to “embed” journalists with military units, it specifically refused to vouch for the safety of reporters operating outside Pentagon control and in fact warned journalists that using their satellite phones could make them targets for unfriendly missile fire.

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.

I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.