Duncan Smith's war

Duncan Smith's war

Nick Assinder BBC News Online political correspondent

Iain Duncan Smith's decision to back war with Iraq was probably one of the easiest calls of his leadership.

Much as the thought of having to regularly tell Tony Blair that he was right must have stuck in his throat, this was, as George Bush might put it, a no brainer.

'Even Portillo has praised IDS'

After all, the thought of a peacenik Tory leader just doesn't scan. Particularly a peacenik ex-guards Tory leader.

And he would certainly have been out of sync with the majority of his grassroots party members and his MPs if he had decided to oppose the conflict.

More importantly, though, it would have meant him crossing a Republican president and a man he would dearly love to be doing leadership business with one day.

And, horror of horrors, it would have put him on the same side in the Commons as the Liberal Democrats.

If all that wasn't enough to convince him, the sight of failed leadership contender and possible future challenger Ken Clarke coming out against the war would have clinched it.

Infuriating the French and other federalist Euro plotters was probably just a bonus.

'Little fib'

OK, he could have come up with some sort of "we agree with the president's aims but now is not quite the time" excuse.

But that would have been wishy washy to the point of suicidal.

His message was clear throughout - this was putting country before party politics

So each time Mr Duncan Smith defended his position, declaring the easy option would have been to oppose the war, he was telling a little fib.

Had he done that he would have lost whatever credibility he has in Washington and alienated a huge swathe of his party and backbenchers.

And now the war is won and Tony Blair is quietly basking in the victory, he would have been vilified for opposing it.

His leadership would have probably been over.

Country before party

In any case, it would simply have been entirely out of character.

Since he made that decision he has stuck resolutely to it and gone out of his way to praise the prime minister.

His message was clear throughout - this was putting country before party politics.

It may have meant that he failed to seize the headlines in the way Charles Kennedy or Robin Cook have.

But the rewards may be great. Before the war his leadership was buckling.

There were more plotters on the Tory benches than in a Shakespeare work, and just about everyone agreed his future depended entirely on the results of the local elections on 1 May.

Plotless?

For the past couple of months, however, there hasn't been hide nor hair of a plot.

Even Michael Portillo has praised his judgement.

That is not to say he is free and clear.

Far from it. The local polls are still a crucial test, but he may find his position on the war helps him out in the polling booths by bringing back some of the disillusioned old Tories.

It is always possible - some will say probable - that in a few weeks' time the war will be all-but forgotten and his leadership will be again under a cloud.

But his actions over the war will certainly not have done him any extra damage.