The table profiles Iraq’s neighbours over the last twenty-five years (from 1980-2005). Two vital measures have changed over these years: the level of GDP and the pace of democratization. Unfortunately neither have changed much for the better. Astonishingly GDP has fallen everywhere except Turkey. This seems scarcely believeable given two of the countries, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, are so oil rich.

Democratization is improving but erratically. Twenty-five years ago when there was zip or little democracy around only Iran had a murmur though this reflected the replacement of the Shah rather than what he was replaced by. Things have gone backwards in Iran and also Saudi Arabia.

Only secular Turkey has made useful progress in democratisation and is around twenty times more democratic in 2005 than in 1980. It's GDP has also more than doubled. Ankara can be proud they now scores over 20 points for democracy. That’s immeasurably better than anyone else in this list (though it’s still far behind western democracies like the UK and US, who score around the 50 mark). A decade from now it will hopefully be even better. Then, Turkey and it’s 67 millions – more than the population of either France or Germany or Britain – could be either the border of the European Union or potentially inside the European Union.

Understanding how Syria will play it’s hand is in many ways an understanding of how France will play their hand and have played their hand in the region. Syria was for many years a French colony. Annexed in 1920 - the French declared ‘the whole of it, and forever!’ - it once stretched as far as Lebanon. In 1919, barely eight decades ago, Britain and France were clashing over Iraq – then called Mesopotamia. (Iraq was only born in 1925). Then as now the French only acquiesced in the British creation of Iraq when they were granted an economic interest. Things change, and then again they never change.