Iraq

Our forte is stock rating. But we want to state our views on Iraq and, of course, Iraq developments are factored into the stock market.

Our view is that the attempt by the Allies to make Iraq democratic will not work. The Allies have been there for over two years and it was C&M(chaos and mayhem) when they got there and nothing has changed. It is doubtful that democracy can be imposed in that part of the world.

We think it is only a matter of time until Iraq, like Iran, will become a theocracy, or there is civil war.

The Allies, and particularly the American presence, in Iraq is clearly too costly in terms of both human casualties and the huge financial strain on the U.S. budget.

It is time to start pulling the troops out. There is a chance that one day soon the Allies will admit that they are not wanted there and hopefully this will be the signal to bring an end to a noble effort - but one that could not be consumated.