FOR someone who has made his name as the master of spin and the manipulation of other people's images, Peter Mandelson has an unhappy knack of overlooking the obvious when it comes to his own career.

That's why he had to resign over the Hinduja affair. Even though subsequent inquiries vindicated him, he was unable to see how cynical the events appeared to the public: dubious character gives £1m to the Millennium Dome, the Government's ailing pet project, and then days later the same dubious character receives a British passport.

On this occasion, Mr Mandelson has come perilously close to calling the IRA "freedom fighters".

He certainly has a point in differentiating between extreme fanatics like Osama bin Laden, who are incapable of debate or reason, and terrorists who are prepared to lay down weapons and enter political dialogue. This justifies the Government's attempts to bring peace to Ulster without pursuing the IRA's terrorists with Afghanistan-style military strikes.

Such a differentiation, though, muddies the waters in the Middle East, where Yasser Arafat has in the past indulged in political dialogue but is now being relentlessly bombed by the Israelis who feel he has not delivered enough. Under Mr Mandelson's definition, then, isn't Mr Arafat a "freedom fighter" and the Israelis the "terrorists" who should, therefore, come under ferocious international attack?

It may also muddy the water in Ulster because political dialogue requires two sides talking to each other. Hearing the IRA described as "freedom fighters" is hardly likely to encourage Unionists to talk with them or offer concessions to them.

These are sensitive times in Ireland, and Mr Mandelson would have been better advised to think how his words would be perceived in all quarters before giving an unnecessary television interview.

Of course, those who are extremely cynical about Mr Mandelson's motives - or, indeed, in awe of his powers - will say that we are misjudging him. They will say that the master of spin and manipulation has timed his controversy to perfection in an attempt to knock his bitter rival Gordon Brown out of the headlines on the day that he became a father. It couldn't be true, could it?