With friends like these

Richard Norton-Taylor's article on the British army's "deep fury" at Donald Rumsfeld's decision to disband the Iraqi army after the invasion, evolves into a predictable but accurate rant on the current state of US/UK "special relationship".

What is Washington doing in return for all Blair's help? Bush has blocked a billion-dollar deal with Rolls-Royce to build engines for the proposed joint strike fighter - which Britain wants for its two new aircraft carriers - despite repeated lobbying from Blair. The US still refuses to share advanced military technology with us. It is refusing to let British agencies question terrorist suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged September 11 mastermind; it won't even say where they are being held.

Meanwhile the Telegraph reports Britain is 'likely base for son of Star Wars'.

British officials were startled by the disclosure, insisting that, as far as they were concerned, nothing had changed since Geoff Hoon, then the defence secretary, told parliament in 2004 that a decision to base interceptors in Britain would be "open to scrutiny and debate in the normal way".

"No one asked us the question [whether Britain was now ready to be a formal candidate]," a British Embassy spokesman said.