Apr 4

　　The week that saw British servicemen humiliated by a former client state was also, as it happened, the one when Britain was marking the 25th anniversary of the Falklands war.

　　For Tony Blair, Britain's prime minister, the symmetry is uncomfortable. It contrasts Mrs Thatcher's conduct of the war in the Falklands with his own difficulties, in Iraq in particular. Worse, for a man who believes in his ability to persuade, Mr Blair is out of touch with his people. In a YouGov survey for the Daily Telegraph this week, 61% of respondents said Britain was right to retake the Falklands, while 72% think the country should hesitate to get involved in conflicts that do not concern it. The British people want out—most clearly from Iraq, but also now from Afghanistan.

　　Based on a 1998 Strategic Defence Review, Britain is spending £14 billion ($28 billion) to improve its ability to conduct expeditionary operations far from home. Under Mr Blair, however, the armed forces are far more active than they planned to be.

　　Today, Britain—with an economy that has grown without recession for 15 years—has the money to buy military hardware. It also has a prime minister given to bold idealism. But a missing link has been highlighted by the past week's events in Iran. Without thoughtfulness and attention to detail (especially the detail that can be provided by good intelligence), all the military hardware in the world is insufficient to protect a state against others that bear old grudges against it.