Defence: Public ignorance, the media, and cutbacks

[WE Branch Fanatic]

From the Gaurdian: Brassed Off

For 400 years, politicians and soldiers have carefully maintained a formal distance between policy and operations. Now they want a say. Sir Richard Dannatt, the serving chief of the general staff, suggests that British troops should "get out [of Iraq] sometime soon", while the man in charge on the ground, General Shirreff, declares that "a 100% solution" is not an option. The retired officers are even more outspoken. In an interview in October, Lord Guthrie, Mr Blair's favourite soldier, described the Afghanistan war as "cuckoo". It is easy to be sympathetic to their cause: they lead forces who risk their lives every day, while we at home complain that they should not be there at all. But before it is allowed to lapse altogether, it is worth remembering that there is a good reason for the traditional relationship. Society owes a debt to the armed forces. But we, not they, decide what they do.