What's really happening?

Our Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, was sacked last week. Been in the job for five years, not caused any real trouble, so why should he go now?

Rumour says it's because he said it would be inconceivable to invade Iran, and that to consider using nuclear weapons would be nuts.

Yesterday another member of our government said that Guantanamo should be closed. America has rejected that request. That guy will probably disappear soon as well.

Iraq is proving to a disaster, but there is a more important issue than the political stability of that country. The companiesd that make the really big weapons, the million-dollar bombs dropped on Baghdad, are beginning to get worried. They have replaced all the weaponry used in invading Iraq. They now need another target.

Iran looks like a good bet. Politically it threatens Israel, and America is controlled by Jews, so attacking Iran looks like a good idea. We don't have to ask if it is necessary, or even if it is achievable, the question is how many bombs do you think we can drop on the place.

All my life I lived under the supposed threat of Soviet invasion. It was a myth, a lie. It was never going to happen, but companies making the products used in war wanted us to feel worried - they made more money that way.

A Kalashnikov rifle costs a few dollars to make, and can be made by anyone. A nuclear bomb takes a little more thought, and can be very expensive. That's the gear these large international (dare I say US-controlled) companies like to make. Missile guidance, huge tanks, untested hardware.

The truth is that we don't need conventional armed forces any longer. They are useless against insurgents, and (supposedly) they are the new enemy. So why do we keep making warships, fighter planes, tanks and bombs?

Because they all make money.