Democratic Peace: The End of War?: "Global military spending is also in decline. Stated in current dollars, annual global military spending peaked in 1985, at $1.3 trillion, and has been falling since, to slightly over $1 trillion in 2004, according to the Center for Defense Information, a nonpartisan Washington research organization."

Democratic Peace: The End of War?: "the fact that we now see so many visuals of combat and conflict creates the impression that these problems are increasing: Actually, it is the reporting of the problems that is increasing, while the problems themselves are in decline. Television, especially, likes to emphasize war because pictures of fighting, soldiers, and military hardware are inherently more compelling to viewers than images of, say, water-purification projects. Reports of violence and destruction are rarely balanced with reports about the overwhelming majority of the Earth's population not being harmed. "

And this was in Date: 23 July 2002

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online: "The Defence Secretary said that the US had already begun 'spikes of activity' to put pressure on the regime."

This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its contents.

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online: " Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."