THE bombs are landing, the troops are on the move and the unthinkable has become a horrifying reality.

Britain and the United States have begun their war on Iraq, without the comfort of a United Nations mandate and with howls of protest from around the world ringing in their ears.

It's too late for all that now; the die has been cast and history will judge the rights and wrongs of this campaign.

The fact is that this huge military machine will keep going forward until Saddam Hussein is toppled or flees the country.

True to form, the old despot appeared on Iraqi TV this morning, as bombs fell all around Baghdad, to predict victory.

He's kidding nobody, least of all his own persecuted people.

In Swindon and around Britain, the people most directly affected by this conflict will be lost in their own thoughts; the ex-servicemen who have been through it all before, the families of men and women now in the Gulf, Iraqi and American expatriates, airmen and soldiers left behind to man bases at Lyneham, Fairford and South Cerney, peace campaigners and British Muslims.

No matter what their view is of this unfolding tragedy, it's likely they will all be praying for the same things at this time: the safe return of our servicemen and women and a quick end to the conflict, preferably within days rather than weeks.

For or against this war, now is the time to show support for our soldiers, sailors and airmen.

That's the very least they deserve at this dangerous and unpredictable time.