"We don't know who they were, we only know they were from St Austell and they called themselves a 'fast response unit' but they weren't employed by the council, " he said.

BBC: Cornwall clean-up after 100 properties flooded

Iraqis, when they weren't being persecuted, were encouraged to see themselves as passive beneficiaries of a providential state.

ECONOMIST: How to get ahead in Bremer's Iraq

As it dawned on the company that the Web might offer a new sales channel, the sales staff was telling big retail chains they weren't to sell Levi's or Dockers on-line themselves.

FORBES: Digital denim