Britain, along with the U.S.A., is war weary, and after the travesty of Iraq and Afghanistan, has grave misgivings in any future involvement in the Middle East. The ghost of Tony Blair and his single-minded determination to attack Iraq, at any cost, has cast a long shadow over British politics. The British public have a long collective memory.

Britain is one of the biggest arms dealers in the world, after the States. There's a lot of money in weapons deals. We sell weapons, and our responsibility ends as soon as they leave the country; they're unpacked, and then before you know it, they're spread around the world.

I think it is the responsibility of anyone involved in politics to always think of what Japan can do to contribute more to the peace and stability not just of Japan and the region but of the entire world.

We were succeeding. When you looked at specifics, this became a war of attrition. We were winning.

Homeowners and business owners across the country agreed to pay premiums, communities agreed to adopt building codes to mitigate flood dangers, and the Federal Government agreed to provide insurance coverage to policyholders after a disaster.

I cut my teeth as a journalist writing about societies that didn't have democracy.