Iran held significant and comparatively free elections in recent years in which there were two contending leaders with quite different perspectives and the Iranian people voted for the person of their choice. It has been a far from perfect transition, with strong clerical elements preventing the wishes of the people – we are not too far away from such a system of government. There were free elections contended by parties with different views and now we are told they are the next target. From what will we say we are liberating the Iranians? Will we restore the Shah, that model of democracy? Those who are apologists for an illegal and immoral war are inviting Britain and the United States to do it again to another country and will find another post hoc rationalisation when it turns out, yet again, that the threat about which we are told did not exist. It is time to take a step back, look at the world and realise that unless we have a stable system of international order where everybody plays by the rules, we are in danger of moving towards something close to international anarchy.