1. The British public do not really care about Defence when their jobs and lifestyles are on the line.
2. The war in Afghanistan is unpopular. The war in Iraq is seen as an outright disaster. Do not mistake support for the troops with support for Defence policy.
3. The Armed Forces in this country work for the Government. That means your boss is a politician, not a 'starred Officer'. To say no would start us down the slippery slope of some of the dodgiest countries around.
4. I cannot forsee any politician of any persuasion voting for another overseas adventure like the aformentioned for the forseeable future. That makes the Armed Forces ripe for cuts from a very big budget (in their eyes).
5. What can you do about it? Resign and/or exercise your democratic right at the Ballot Box.
6. It is about raw politics, pure and simple. All the arguments going about capability etc will fall on deaf ears. When it comes to Defence, they will protect the Defence Industry because that is an export business. That does not mean they will support you.
7. In pure military terms, the powers (mil and civil) that be at the MOD will state quite clearly that there is no conventional military threat to the UK and probably won't be in the next 50 odd years. Hence, out of Afghanistan (which will happen before the next election) and no threat means reduce the Armed Forces to no more than a critical hub that can be regenerated in the event of an emerging threat.
8. Trident will be saved because it is seen as a very big political bargaining tool.
I am not saying that I agree with all/some of the above. I just feel that the threads on here discussing capabilities are completaly missing the point. We are a very small cog in a very big and bankrupt machine. To even suggest saying no is, IMHO, pointless and misses the point. To think that, come the crunch, Joe Public will take to the streets to make sure we get our 'kit' is wide of the mark by a country mile.
Very sad times ahead.