The historian of a century or two hence will be able to produce evidence of the psycho-physical state of the peoples of the twenty-first century which will show that in this regard they have progressed little on the evolutionary plane beyond the man of the Stone Age, whilst, on the other hand, he will only have to to refer to human activities during the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan to convince the most sceptical that human beings of our time have developed a new form of devilry and brutality that surpasses the best efforts of pre-historic man.