There are clear and proven connections now between the abuses at Abu Ghraib and the cruelty at the Americans’ Bagram prison in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. That the symbol of Saddam Hussein’s brutality should have been turned by his own enemies into the symbol of their own brutality is a singularly ironic epitaph for the whole Iraq adventure. Two years after “Mission Accomplished”, whatever moral stature the United States could claim at the end of its invasion of Iraq has long ago been squandered in the torture and abuse and deaths at Abu Ghraib. It was he who decided to drop charges against Aoun and allow him to come home.

Was this generosity? Or does Lahoud hope that Aoun’s abrasive self-regard will destroy the opposition?Aoun’s first appointment yesterday was at Lebanon’s army memorial, then to the tomb of murdered ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri At Martyrs’ Square, he was to address his supporters Then we shall see if Muslims like Aoun as much as he claims
More from Robert Fisk. The opposition is going to have to work carefully to ensure that their unity is not damaged by this, especially if Geagea is also released.When Aoun fought the Syrians, the opposing Lebanese army commander was General Emile Lahoud Lahoud is now President of Lebanon. So does Aoun’s other old rival, the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who travelled to Paris to see Aoun in February.Although Aoun always claimed to represent both Christians and Muslims – 65 per cent of his army, he would point out, were Muslims – he never captured the affections of any but Maronites. These men hated each other, although Aoun now calls for his release. But in east Beirut, there are now Aoun T-shirts and ones portraying the face of Samir Geagea, Aoun’s old militia rival who has been rotting in the defence ministry base for 11 years. “Is there such a thing as war without collateral damage?” And now, he wants to be president.In the “new” Lebanon that is supposed to be emerging now that the Syrians have gone, the opposition has embraced Christians, Druze and Sunni Muslims. He sometimes did not appear rational, censoring newspapers from his Christian east Beirut enclave.Democracy was what he demanded then – and a Syrian withdrawal – which, after 29 years, has just been accomplished.

But what kind of “democracy” does Aoun want? Back in February, he said he did not feel any remorse for the 3,500 dead “All’s fair in love and war,” the general announced. Aoun was in the habit, back in 1990, of comparing himself to Jesus and Charles de Gaulle, his enemies to Pilate and Judas Messianic was the word that used to come to mind. General Michel Aoun fled in his pyjamas to the French embassy as Syrian aircraft bombed his presidential palace 15 years ago. He must have felt the same because he looked at me with a great big grin and said: “Do you mind if I measure up for new curtains?’ I think it’s a quaint, old Scottish way of saying Congratulations!All The Best, TonyAs told to Rohan Candappa, the-unlikely-ever-to- get- invited-to-No-10 author of ‘The Curious Incident of the WMD in Iraq’. “Well, the ungrateful twats don’t trust you, and don’t like you, but you’re better than the alternatives.” This is called getting a Mandate From The People.Then Gordon came in without even knocking! I was going to tell him off but he’d been so good telling everyone what a Great Prime Minister I was that I decided to let it go I can’t wait for us to Work Together Again. And it turns out that the best way to be On The Road is to go by Helicopter! Which made me think of a new policy to solve our transport problems. We’ll Increase Levels Of Helicopter Ownership.Thursday was Election Day.

After all the rushing around it was good to have a sit-down and a nice Cup of Tea. And it was all right to have a Proper China Cup instead of a Mug as there were no cameras filming me.Then the results started coming in And we won Which was Nice So we drove down to the party. The funny thing is that we had won an Overwhelming Majority with only 36 per cent of the vote. I’d got fewer votes to win than Neil Kinnock got in 1992 when he lost! But that’s why Democracy Is Great. And it’s because democracy is great that we’d done a War in Iraq so they could have democracy too.After the party it was all back to mine.