Over a year since last I blogged! Is this going to be an annual event. I intend to try again, and for today I have suggestions for the French police searching for the killers of Mr and Mrs al-Hilli: go to Baghdad! A friend has said that al-Hilli went there recently in an attempt to get back property confiscated by Saddam Hussein. Well, after America turned Iraq into a capitalist free-for-all, that property must have been taken over by some local oligarch, just as so much was grabbed by Russian billionaires in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. If anybody had a motive for getting rid of al-Hilli, that person is likely to be in Baghdad, or wherever Iraqi oligarchs hang out. Al-Hilli probably discovered he was being stalked; that would explain his sudden departure on holiday. And it would explain why, from the camp-site where the family spent their last night, he headed up such a remote track, hoping to throw off his pursuers - until he saw a green 4-by-4 and realized the game was up. There is not much chance that his 8-year-old daughter will have understood what was happening, and I'll be surprised if anything is found in England, except perhaps some correspondence with people in Baghdad. Perhaps the French should call in the Iraqi police to help. Or perhaps Tony Blair could supply a list of Iraqi oligarchs!