‘I don’t need to . . .’ He waves his hand in the air dismissively. Like most pundits, Tom has no time to read books. He now lists other self-hating Jews and Jew-hating Gentiles who edit journals and run think tanks and foundations with names that mean nothing to Jomier, and then their right-minded neocon adversaries, all endowed by billionaire zealots. This is the essence of democracy: the war of ideas. Jomier recognises that when it comes to blogs and fees and stipends and invitations to appear on chat shows, one has to take one side or the other. He himself prefers to be hors de combat. He does not want to be asked to express an opinion because he does not have one. He too has no time to read books – not because he is appearing on television but because he is watching it – Newsnight, Wolfgang Petersen movies. Tom is now telling him that the time has come for a pre-emptive strike against Iran. Jomier glances at his watch. How much time remains before he must set off for Wandsworth? How much time before the world ends on the plains of Armageddon? Or there is no petrol for Jomier’s Golf because Ahmadinejad has closed the straits of Hormuz?

Tom has moved on from Ahmadinejad to Putin. He hates Putin. Putin is destroying democracy in Russia and plans to reimpose Russian hegemony on the former Soviet republics. Jomier asks why the US is so anxious about democracy in Russia when it is so insouciant about the lack of democracy among its Arab allies – Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi? Tom waves his stubby hand in the air. They are moving towards democracy. Russia is moving away from democracy. And they do not threaten American interests. Peace, democracy, access to the oil and natural gas of Central Asia. Jomier asks if it is wise to confront both Putin and Ahmadinejad at the same time?

‘Where else are they going to sell their oil?’

‘China? India?’

Again, a wave of the stubby hand. ‘No pipelines.’

‘Not yet.’

Tom leans forward, bringing his face closer to Jomier’s. His cheeks glisten with boozy sweat. His eyes are bloodshot. ‘Exactly whose side are you on?’