Derb, Andrew: It seems to me, mulling over the rules of engagement and the self-inflicted humiliation of the Royal Navy, that the whole UN peacekeepy thing has utterly corrupted western governments’ views of their own militaries to the point where it seems entirely normal to send “warships” into a “theatre of war” and expect them to operate like an NGO.

To be fair to the Brits, that’s all a lot of “armed” forces want to do these days (see most Nato members’ “contribution” to Afghanistan). But it’s deeply damaging to any real military tradition. The worst Hallibushitlerburton war crime pales into insignifance compared with what Dutch “peacekeepers” allowed to happen in Srebrenica or a passive UN force (under Canadian command) sat back and watched in Rwanda.

Whatever you want to call these latterday expeditionary activities, it isn’t soldiering. The Iranians understood that. They understood it three years ago; the British didn’t and they’ve learned nothing since.