I wonder if the same decisions would have been made if the events in Libya had unfolded before the SDSR?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. At the end of the day timing was not on the Harriers side and we are where we are and nothing is going to change it. Unless of course the current government is 'bought down' by the phone hacking saga and then all sorts of promises may be made to secure votes ....
Could also pose the question as to what shape/size the RN would be in if the Argies had not invaded the Falklands (since that seems to be the 'reference point' for most of the discussions these days).
Or, god forbid, what state the entire Armed Forces would have been in if, following the end of the Cold War, Bosnia/Kosovo/Iraq 1 had never happened. 232 Typhoons and half a dozen landies anybody?!!!
