Red Line, I accept your valid point regarding Defence not necessarily being the beneficiary of a revision of UK Foreign Aid.
What has really blown my pressure relief valve in all this is UK Gov's increase in this budget of 34%, in this time of all-round hardship. To concurrently slash Defence, at a time of multiple conflicts for HM Forces, amounts to nothing less than an insult to those serving, and a source of considerable vexation to those who are a) retired from HM Forces, but b) still care about these issues.
When will UK Goverments, past & present, realise that UK is a post-colonial power in decline? We clearly cannot strut on the world stage any more, nor should we try, unless we are prepared to make the required investments. I do not view Mr Andrew Mitchell's (International Development Minister) vision of UK becoming a "Development Superpower" as anything other than the pipe-dream of a reallity-starved politico, whose main focus is undoubtedly on his portfolio/profile/career advancement.
UK PLC needs to stop trying to 'punch above its' weight' in many areas. How on earth have we ended up with a) nuclear weapons, but b) conventional forces that are/will be so depleted that we will have little 'option buffer' regarding the doomsday scenario? Answer: we have the nuclear arsenal in order to guarantee entree to the UN Security Council, where our political intelligentsia can delude themselves of their own significance.
The incongruity of this whole issue regarding the Foreign Aid budget is a direct parallel of Nero/Rome/fire/fiddle.
HB