Maroon,
I dont mean to drag the debate down to the lowest common denominator, but I'm afraid you may be labouring under a misapprehension that the starred ranks/politicians actually give a monkeys.
As another contributor says, why should they resign, they have fridges to fill, children to educate and in the case of the outgoing CDS, a two million pound pension pot to keep safe. It would be laudable to think that the higher-ups are cut from a different cloth to the rest of the "Whats In It For Me" generation, but I'm afraid to me, actions speak louder than words.
And these actions have been reverberating for the last 20 years or so, since the end of the Cold War. The generation of senior military men/women/politico's who would have made a stand on principle is long gone I'm afraid. True, there have been resignations at Colonel and equivalent level, but these arent the guys on the 5th floor who actually have any real influence; their influence is where it matters to the troops, out in theatre or at the sharp end.
Those who make the decisions, I'm afraid, couldnt give a fig. Thats the cold hard reality. I would have liked to have thought that for all the noise he generated (most of it warranted as well, and at least he had the b*lls to stick his neck out), that Richard Dannatt would have been able to fight the services' corner, but as most of the cross-bench former military peers have found, no matter how heartfelt it may be, your concerns for your troops are only news until tomorrow when they become chip wrappers. The world moves on and prisoners get to sue the government for lack of duty of care whilst our other colleagues and former oppos are risking their necks on a daily basis. And, I've just learned, after a weekend away from the dead tree press, that Dannatt appears to have jacked it in.
Sorry mate. You're making an assumption that these guys have integrity. Their actions would indicate that they dont.
I'm not sure that the lions share of them ever had any to start with.
Last edited by Jabba_TG12; 2nd Aug 2010 at 09:32.
Reason: typo's, formatting & update to Dannatt situation