Incredibly, at the same time this damning indictment was being issued, the Clinton White House was once again signalling its willingness to "depersonalize" the conflict with Saddam Hussein: His removal from power would no longer be a precondition for a restoration of normal relations between the United States and Iraq.
With finances tighter than they have been for a long-time and a damning report on Mid Staffordshire just months away from being published, the focus on quality of care in the health service has never been greater.