The UN was there before, were attacked (despite the comforting equation of insurgent rage with American occupation), withdrew and have not returned; UN staff have persistently refused to serve there since the murder of the UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 others in 2003.

The UN has shown marked reluctance to prevent war and genocide. Pretty much the only reliable agency to call upon in such a situation is the US Pentagon. Indeed, the failure of the American military (and its political leadership) to establish a sufficient level of order soon after Saddam’s fall accounts, sadly, for the UN reluctance to re-engage. The problem remains an American one.

DR TIMOTHY J. LYNCH
Lecturer in US Foreign Policy
University of London

Sir, The main problem with the idea of a UN protectorate in Iraq is that, politically, the rest of the world will refuse to dig America out of what it sees as a hole of its own making. Even if the political will existed, a UN hotchpotch would be no credible military alternative to US forces on such a tough mission.

Still the status quo is, indeed, intolerable. There is no option but to confront the militias, and in particular the most powerful Shia al-Mahdi one, if the rule of law is to be established. As long as militia SUVs can cruise around the suburbs of Baghdad murdering with impunity the central government will remain an irrelevance.

NICK MARTIN-CLARK
London N4

Sir, There is a sort of déjà vu in this: after all, modern Iraq came into existence as a result of outside intervention at the end of the First World War.

It is right therefore that the international community should now act collectively to save it from collapsing altogether.

RAMNIK SHAH
Epsom, Surrey

Sir, Toby Dodge is undoubtedly accurate in his analysis of the Coalition’s mistakes following the invasion of Iraq, but he makes little reference to the considerable effect of tribal and religious pressures and the long memory of peoples upon whom external powers have imposed artificial borders and unwanted unification over the past 100 years.

These influences are shared with the Balkans, the modern remedy to whose problems he now suggests be imposed upon “Iraq”. Such an approach is a containment exercise no different from the rule of Marshall Tito or of Saddam Hussein, and would be perceived by all inhabitants as cynical imperialism.

Given that many of the countries that Dr Dodge imagines will contribute to his plan have, as Nato members, shown little appetite for sharing the commitment to Afghanistan, the chances of his idea coming to fruition seem slim. Yet, if our military departed, thereby removing ourselves as the perceived common enemy, the people would begin to discern the true enemies within and deal with them, albeit bloodily.

PETER SMITH
Great Comberton, Worcs

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