WE have come to accept that the war in Iraq has heightened tensions in the Middle East, stirred up a hornets' nest of terrorism, and cast a shadow over the achievements of a British Prime Minister who pulled off three successive general election victories.

We are now having to come to terms with another less obvious consequence of the ousting of Saddam Hussein's evil regime - the prospect of the return of the Cold War.

Britain and the US are trapped in an increasingly unpopular conflict, with no satisfactory end in sight.

The war was supported by Tony Blair on the ultimately false premise that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction capable of striking swiftly at this country.

The result is a worldwide public relations disaster and a credibility problem which will have far-reaching foreign policy implications.

The weakness of the allies' international position over Iraq has emboldened Russia to risk a hardline response to US plans for a missile defence system based in the former Soviet bloc states of Poland and the Czech Republic.

While America and Britain insist that the missiles are to counter threats from rogue states such as Iran and North Korea, Vladimir Putin argues that neither Iran nor North Korea have the weapons the US aim to counter.

It is dangerous talk and, as NATO has said, Mr Putin's stance is unhelpful and unwelcome.

But, whether we like it or not, the Russian President has been given an opportunity to question whether America and Britain can be trusted. He has taken that opportunity and his question is bound to resonate around the world.