[spoilers] Harry and Ruth Strike Back

[JHyde]

See, I've always argued that it makes sense for the mission to have taken place much later in the piece, somewhere to the back end of season 4. Politically it actually makes more sense too, as the vindication for Iraq was probably needed more the longer the war went on, even after Bush won his second election.

I'm prepared to ball park it in late 2005, both because of how close Harry and Ruth would have to been for the trust aspect of it and also for the logistics and politics involved. I do think that early 2005 is also a possibility, given that Blair went to the polls in May 2005.

I think it had to have been later for Harry to so totally trust her - you can't see him doing that before 3.9, at the absolute earliest and that time frame dictates May and June of 2005. As well as the fact that it couldn't have been TOO far back so that more than 5 years elapsed between the original mission and then 8.1.