Gordon is clearly exhausted and struggling to cope with his day job. He has no aptitude for diplomacy, and everyone abroad sees him as a lame duck PM.  So why does he rush to Iraq and Israel?  These are serious diplomatic situations with lives at stake.

(The cynic may recognise the old ploy for getting rid of a disliked CEO of sending them on exhausting travels.  And does anyone think that the photo of Gordon grinning behind a machine gun has done him any good?)