THE END OF IRAQ

Peter W. Galbraith (Simon and Schuster, £17.99)

Most commentators on Iraq have never been there and don't intend to go, but Peter Galbraith is that rare bird - an American who knows the Middle East well.

Here, he doesn't argue about whether the war was right or wrong; he argues that the occupation has been a disaster, and that his country should get out now.

One mistake, and there were many, was to think of the Iraqi people' as a unit when in fact they are three tribes. The Kurds, of whom Galbraith is a long-time friend, are, in all but name, independent.

Elsewhere - well, watch the news any night to hear about more terrible sectarian killings. Apparently, George Bush had never actually heard the words Sunni and Shiite until two months before he stormed in.

What is to be done? Galbraith says there is not very much the West can do; the Iraqis must sort it out themselves and we must respect their decisions. As in Yugoslavia, if people cannot live together it is best if they amicably live apart. In Baghdad and other mixed areas, he says bleakly, "there is no solution". The bloodshed is not about to stop.

British readers may be surprised to find that this book hardly mentions Tony Blair. He was only ever a bit player; if he had stayed out, it would have made little difference, and the people who died last July in London might still be alive.