CM, time and distance is now making me look at all the services, and Britain even, in a differing light, that's all. I'm not unduly negative about them (I think) but I'm no longer the true saluting blue I was - that is very true. Being lied to and deliberately deceived when your volunteering head is potentially on the block, well it can do that. Being a civilian has made me look entirely in a different way at HM forces, what they do, with what and how.
The quotes today.What an earth does Fallon mean by saying " we" are standing tall? Against Russia? Is the man utterly mad? He needs to rapidly de-escalate, if he can.
More in the DM about today with a very good photo.
Moment RAF Typhoons intercepted Russian MiG planes heading for Nato exercise | Daily Mail Online
Is it really a yawn? For whom? 4 powerful military combat aircraft were taking part in this photo, over Europe at high speed. These aircraft appear to be all armed. Mustering up an amphib. force in the Baltic -tactically mad and provocative to Russia to boot. We did the same thing back in 1985, those that were there will remember it -it simply provokes the Russians to respond in kind (which they did then and will so again and again).
I think this has the potential to spill over very quickly into combat via a misunderstanding, a misread. Both sides should broker a stand down-now.
Our politicians and their senior military officers (Britain's) keep on making horrible howler after howlers in their logic and decision making and in their strategy and thinking and in their operational reasoning and decision making - look at Iraq, Afghan, Libya, Syria, possibly now the Yemen, possibly recently in refugee pick-ups offshore Libya and how that would develop, probably with their cutting back of still credible UK defence forces - they keep getting it wrong time after time after time, within the last 15 years IMHO.
They need to get this one really very right.
Certainly the comments from the DM readers (and boy they normally are a true blue bunch) seem pretty nationally representative.
Martin I'm glad that is so, about the facility at Yeovilton. I wish them all well and did not wish to appear unduly negative or whatever. HS.
* Reading CMs question again...I don't know. I don't think the Russians really actually want a confrontation over anything, but of the Russians I've met and worked with, or the TV programmes and news I watch or have translated for me by others, I always get the impression that they never ever think as we do, they seem to think about life in an entirely differing way. Our humour doesn't translate to theirs, things we think as funny they can think of as humiliating or offensive and so on. Our logic doesn't follow theirs -that is why I believe we have to be very, very careful with our military forces and this ongoing situation (which has developed for months now) - we truly need the best of brains behind this and I'm afraid we simply haven't got that, at this present time. HS. Goodnight.