Comparisons between civil and military types doesn't really mean a great deal. In terms of the 737 it runs a production line of over 5'000 with something like a maximum of five accidents thought to have originated with the rudder PFCU problems. View the rest of the accidents that have
happened to the fleet and it's quite clear that the type is fundamentally very safe. The write off list runs to 130 and amongst these are a broad range of accidents - the majority of which can be attributed to pilot error.
In terms of the military accident rate -it is very low but it's also worth viewing it from the point that a typical military aircraft doesn't do anything like the number of hours per year that a civil airliner would do. Hence exposure to risk is therefore lower.
As for the manufacturers doing the minimum in terms of safety - either they
are incredibly lucky or the minimum standards seem to work. There are set standards for all aircraft fittings and these are set in stone. View the majority of accidents and design and maintainance feature in a very small number.
In terms of Nimrod - if there are concerns regards fuel integrity there needs to be urgent action taken. We should not in a position where the biggest threat to our aircrew is from our own equipment.