Politicians do not enter into wars lightly. It is usually the military themselves who are keener to become involved.

There is no conflict in the world that cannot be solved.

I started off in radio, then made little films for Granada. I applied for a job at 'Weekend World,' and they turned me down; I'd also applied to the Foreign Office, which accepted me.

Maybe strong leaders are not quite as alluring as we think, and we should celebrate the fact that our leaders are just like us. Just because one candidate can't remember his whole speech and the other likes to put his feet up on the job doesn't mean they can't govern.

Our fumbling government's response since Beirut - during both Republican and Democratic administrations - has been to cut and run, or to flat ignore this growing threat, apparently hoping it would go away.

I don't really care about interruptions. I accept technology, and I don't turn things off. I've found a peace with fragmentation and a harmony with switching gears quickly to other things.

The Iraq War was the first conflict in western history in which an imperialist war was massively protested against before it had even been launched.

One could always do more, faster and cleverer, but democracy has its own rhythm.