The names were read out one by one as a piper played laments. The final goodbye to Iraq was marked by remembering those who will not make it home. In London, Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, declared an official end to combat operations in a conflict which had lasted longer than either of the World Wars.  In Basra, it was a somber and reflective farewell to arms for British troops as they went on their last patrols along streets where they had fought battles and lost comrades.

When President Hamid Karzai drove to Kabul airport to fly to America earlier this week, the centre of the Afghan capital was closed down by well-armed security men, soldiers and policemen. On his arrival in Washington he will begin two days of meetings, starting today, with President Barack Obama and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari about their joint efforts to combat the Taliban. Karzai is also to deliver a speech at the Brookings Institution think tank on “effective ways of fighting terrorism.” The title of his lecture shows a certain cheek. Karzai’s seven years in power since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 have been notable for his failure to prevent their resurgence.