Fifth Pillar: The Life and Philosophy of Field Marshal the Lord Bramall KG, GCB, OBE, MC

Six months before the 2003 American-led invasion of Iraq, Field Marshal The Lord Bramall warned that an operation to remove Saddam Hussain would produce a display of massive, dynamic United States activity which provides one of the mainsprings of motivation for terrorist action in the Middle East and, far from advancing the 'war on terrorism', it would make matters infinitely worse. 'Dwin' Bramall rose from platoon commander in the Second World War to become professional head of the Army and then Chief of the Defence Staff. His reputation for a sharp mind combined with an engagingly persuasive manner led to his rapid rise through every level of command. As Chief of the Defence Staff 1982-85, he sought to turn the minds of the single service chiefs away from their fixation with the Soviet threat and towards the growing challenges to Britain's security and national interests arising in the Middle East and Asia. Now a House of Lords cross-bencher, he continues to speak against the failure of successive governments to provide adequate support for the nation's security and argues for the much closer co-ordination of foreign and defence policy.

Michael Tillotson, Major-General retired, served operationally with the British Army in Malaya, Indo-China, the Indonesian Confrontation and South Arabia. He worked in Defence Intelligence, with the United Nations in Cyprus and on a fact finding Mission for UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim in the Middle East. He has known Lord Bramall for 50 years and was his Chief of Staff in Hong Kong. He is the author of Finland at Peace and War, commissioned by the government of Finland in 1993, and has been military obituary writer for The Times since 1997. He lives in Wiltshire.