Gordon Carrera

It was interesting though, even when you got to the run up to the war, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022,

You could still see the legacy of Iraq because people in British intelligence and government were thinking, we want to present the intelligence about what Russia's intentions are because we've discovered them.

But you could still see the nervousness about...

Whether politicians might speak about it wrongly, whether people wouldn't trust it, all of that was the legacy of Iraq still shaping it.

And I think making them, to some extent, overcautious in some cases.

I think British intelligence has been overcautious in sharing information because it was so bruised

by the experience of Iraq.

It's shaped, hasn't it?

Both CIA, MI6, British government, American government, and it's shaped their intelligence agencies and led, I think, sometimes to an overcaution because of the scars of Iraq.

But yes, there are certainly more kind of stricter controls in place.

I mean, it is interesting, just to finish as we talk about this now in 2026, where you've got a war in Iran going on.

Because in many ways, it's so different, isn't it?

Because there's been no attempt by the US, in this case, it's the US and Israel rather than the UK and US, but to justify the war with all these, or get a UN resolution.

And the intelligence is kind of... It's so interesting, isn't it?

Because there's none of the public cases...

being made or the thoughts about dossiers or how to present the evidence.

It's very different.

And of course, you know, the other big difference is that the UK this time has made a very conscious decision.

We are not going to be involved in this operation.

And that again is such a shift from 2001, 2002, 2003, when Tony Blair felt we have to be in alongside the Americans.