THE CRUSADE CONTINUES...:

Does Britain have a moral duty to spread democracy? (Daily Telegraph, 2/12/08)

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, is to argue that mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan must not derail Britain’s efforts to foster democracy throughout the world - through military action if necessary.

In a speech he will deliver in Oxford entitled The Democratic Imperative, Mr Miliband will warn that the spread of democracy is far from guaranteed and that Britain has a moral imperative to intervene in the future.

“My plea is not to let divisions over these conflicts obscure our national interest, never mind our moral impulse, in supporting movements for democracy,” he will say.