Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Dear Simon Jenkins,

Congratulations on a superb piece in The Sunday Times.  A lot has been said and continues to be said about the war in Iraq, but your article was a very calm and collected evaluation of the ‘options’ left for America.  I very much agree with your belief that no comparisons can be drawn between Iraq and Vietnam, despite President Bush’s best efforts and you were brutally honest about the problems now facing the US and UK governments.

There are still some questions that I would like to have seen addressed.  There is always talk of ‘transferring power’ to Iraq but how do you think this will work?  Who should the power be transferred to?  Can the Iraq police be trusted?  Are the government strong enough to handle power? Are the powerful local militias a possible source for optimism or should they be cut out of the process?

On a very different note, how do you see the situation in Iraq influencing the presidential elections, if at all?  Can the Democrat candidates score some political points over all the Republicans as they are not tarnished by association with President Bush, or will that cost them support?  The American public have finally turned on the White House over Iraq, but do they see the Democrats as the answer to the problems?

Yours in admiration,

A.Tory