This should be a moment of reconciliation not only in Iraq but in the international community. For their struggle is a wider struggle. The purpose of terrorism in Iraq is to defeat not just Iraqi democracy but democratic values everywhere.

From the moment the Afghans came out and voted in their first-ever election, the myth that democracy was a Western concept was exploded. The Governments of the world do not all believe in freedom. But the people of the world do.

In my nine years as Prime Minister I have not become more cynical about idealism. I have simply become more persuaded that the distinction between a foreign policy driven by values and one driven by interests is obviously wrong. Globalisation begets interdependence. Interdependence begets the necessity of a common value system to make it work. In other words, the idealism becomes the realpolitik.

Our values are our guide. To make it so, however, we have to be prepared to think sooner and act quicker in defence of those values — progressive pre-emption, if you will.

None of that will eliminate the setbacks, fallings short, inconsistencies and hypocrisies that come with practical decision-making in a harsh world. But it does mean that the best of the human spirit which, throughout the ages, has pushed the progress of humanity is also the best hope for the world’s future.