I am trying to get at the fact that Mr Hague has not been a particularly brave foreign secretary. Neither he nor the Prime Minister has shown the faintest inclination to challenge the fundamental parameters of foreign policy, as set in stone by Tony Blair. Britain will do nothing whatsoever to offend, or even to annoy, the United States. In return, we get to exert “influence” and keep our seat on the security council, where we are valued in the sense that (and only in the sense that) we can be relied upon to vote with the US.