What on earth?

I saw General Dannatt's interview with BBC Breakfast this morning. He mentioned that Des Browne had authorised his statement. He also sounded like he was backpedalling furiously.

Now the government is saying that he was reflecting policy.

This can mean a number of things:

1. Some serious wires have got crossed in the Ministry of Defence press office.
2. Dannatt is just stating the government's view in a way that can be misinterpreted.
3. We're preparing for a major U-turn on Iraq.

By the way, I believe things will be even worse if we pull out prematurely.