It is often said and written that the first casualty of war is the truth. This claim is borne out by many historical instances, but such an inflammatory statement is perhaps no longer applicable in the modern world.
In an age of instant media capture and broadcast - whether through print, television or radio - it is now harder than at any time in human history for the victors of any war to establish the official journal of the conflict. History will never again be simply "written by the winners". Paradoxically, at a time when so many different accounts of events are recorded and available for scrutiny, the 'truth' is becoming increasingly elusive.
The myriad of opinion, fact and footage (all of it valid) does make the pursuit of the truth more difficult; but it does not make it impossible to find. In the same way that truth can still be found, so it is that 'right' and 'wrong' can still be determined.
Having invaded Iraq, it is imperative that British troops remain in the country until either they are no longer required, or until they are asked to leave by a sovereign Iraqi government. Any withdrawal without either of these two conditions being met would resemble a shameful betrayal of the Iraqi people.
In recent weeks I have been given cause to re-examine this view. The cause of this re-examination can be found in one word, 'Haditha'.
Haditha is the Iraqi town where a suspected massacre of 24 civilians by US marines took place in November 2005. Responding to the death of one of their colleagues from a roadside bomb, US Marines reportedly entered three houses adjacent to the site of the bomb and murdered 24 people ranging from 2 to 70 years old. The American authorities reported that civilians had been "accidentally" killed in a crossfire which followed the roadside bomb.
The BBC's Martin Asser reports that "a day after the incident, local journalist Taher Thabet got his video camera out and filmed scenes that - whatever they were - were not the aftermath of a roadside bomb.
The bodies of women and children, still in their night clothes; interior walls and ceilings peppered with bullet holes; bloodstains on the floor."
The quick thinking of a local journalist armed with only a video camera set about a chain of events which have resulted in an ongoing inquiry into the affair by the American military. American politicians in Washington claim to have seen and heard first hand evidence of the aftermath of the shootings and believe that the civilians were murdered in cold blood. The official report is yet to surface. A twelve year old boy who escaped the carnage by pretending to be dead witnessed the shootings and is now the only remaining member of his family.
If it is proven that these killings were performed in cold blood - and it looks likely - then these "accidental killings" should be reported as what they are. In civil society, these would be murders. In conflict, there can be no escaping that these are war crimes.
It bears repeating that I am enthusiastically pro-American - this probably accounts for the depth of my disgust. I expect more from our allies, especially those who came to our aid in the international struggle against fascism - but no relationship, however strong, or history, however glorious and intertwined, can mitigate against horrors such as those which occurred in Haditha.
I cannot begin to understand the daily privations suffered by soldiers operating in a hostile environment; but no matter. What goes through the head of a man who raises his gun to shoot a two year old child?
Should the suspicions of many American politicians be confirmed by the investigation into the Haditha massacre, then those responsible should be tried for murder. If our continued presence in Iraq is to retain any moral validity, then war criminals must be brought to justice - especially those amongst our own ranks.
For the record, but with a heavier heart, I still believe that British and American forces should remain in Iraq until either of the previous conditions are met.
We must be true to the ideals upon which both Britain and America are established; we must not betray our better nature. Through our actions, we must now show a grieving country and a horrified world that the lives of Iraqi civilians and allied soldiers are of equal worth. Fundamentally though, we must not allow the truth to become a casualty of this war. There is still a right and there is still a wrong. We must be told the truth about Haditha.