United against the Treasury......at last!
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United against the Treasury......at last!
I am not naive enough to recognise that media, tabloids and broadsheets do not attempt to manipulate public opinion and ultimately HMG policy making...
But at last thankfully (for the future of the UK's defence) there appears to be a united and coherent force that is eventually pulling together to make it perfectly clear to the Prime Minister exactly what he is doing to this nation's Armed Forces. The letter in today's Sunday Telegraph is but one example.
If ever there was a time for all 3 Services to put aside the senior levels of land grabs and single Service politicking then now is that time.....or forever look back in history as one of those lost moments.
I was very impressed with CNS and his robust declaration and this is the immediate counter to the MOD civil serpent or accountant that weare managing to deliver contingency operations andcontinuing with the enduring war in Afghanistan.
If this is what the Prime Minister believes and also what the British public believe, then they couldn't be further from the truth and the significant increase in cost that this attempt at 'just enough - just in time' approach to warfare rather than having an Armed Forces that is resourced to do the job properly the first time round.
Well done to to those both serving and in areas of influence in making a formal record for history to review of the folly that this account driven defence policy is doing to anyGovernment's number one mandate - defence of the country.
Now on the other hand if we really are that broke and the Prime Minister really does want to save the levels of money that he has obviously charged Ministers Letwin and Maud to find in the 3 Month Exercise, then let's stop pretending as a nation and act like Greece or a similar nation that the Treasury is aligning our defences to and let's just pull out of Afghanistan, Libya and anywhere else where we have our Foreign Office fingers in the pie backed up by the nation's military and just look after the island nation of the United Kingdom. No NATO, no EU force, No ISAF or any other Coalition intervent/peace keeping force against 'crimes to humanity' or disaster relief.
Just a plain, simple, cheap and very effective Home Defence Force.
But at last thankfully (for the future of the UK's defence) there appears to be a united and coherent force that is eventually pulling together to make it perfectly clear to the Prime Minister exactly what he is doing to this nation's Armed Forces. The letter in today's Sunday Telegraph is but one example.
If ever there was a time for all 3 Services to put aside the senior levels of land grabs and single Service politicking then now is that time.....or forever look back in history as one of those lost moments.
I was very impressed with CNS and his robust declaration and this is the immediate counter to the MOD civil serpent or accountant that weare managing to deliver contingency operations andcontinuing with the enduring war in Afghanistan.
If this is what the Prime Minister believes and also what the British public believe, then they couldn't be further from the truth and the significant increase in cost that this attempt at 'just enough - just in time' approach to warfare rather than having an Armed Forces that is resourced to do the job properly the first time round.
Well done to to those both serving and in areas of influence in making a formal record for history to review of the folly that this account driven defence policy is doing to anyGovernment's number one mandate - defence of the country.
Now on the other hand if we really are that broke and the Prime Minister really does want to save the levels of money that he has obviously charged Ministers Letwin and Maud to find in the 3 Month Exercise, then let's stop pretending as a nation and act like Greece or a similar nation that the Treasury is aligning our defences to and let's just pull out of Afghanistan, Libya and anywhere else where we have our Foreign Office fingers in the pie backed up by the nation's military and just look after the island nation of the United Kingdom. No NATO, no EU force, No ISAF or any other Coalition intervent/peace keeping force against 'crimes to humanity' or disaster relief.
Just a plain, simple, cheap and very effective Home Defence Force.
At the end of the day,it's the Treasury's ball, and they can take it home on a fit of pique if they wish.
Nice try pulling out of a variety of treaty commitments - which become part of our municipal law - and hope we never have any need for LRMPA, strategic intelligence, ABO, UK NEOs, SLOC protection, overseas training areas, defence industry cooperation.......
We are not Switzerland or Sweden. The UK remains a global player in many, many fields and Defence plc is a significant part of that, howsoever 'poorly' resourced.
Nice try pulling out of a variety of treaty commitments - which become part of our municipal law - and hope we never have any need for LRMPA, strategic intelligence, ABO, UK NEOs, SLOC protection, overseas training areas, defence industry cooperation.......
We are not Switzerland or Sweden. The UK remains a global player in many, many fields and Defence plc is a significant part of that, howsoever 'poorly' resourced.
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Of course we are and need to be a global player......but these decisions and choices are now ensuring we will not be...that is the point. There is a good case now for complete retrenchment.....others do it why not us? If there are undeniable arguments against this approach (which I have always believed there are) ,then plenty within both the elected government and the civil service don't seem to recognise it. It has now become well established over several decades that many of our own nation see no merit in us having global capability...many now fight against it...look at the stories that emerged from the FO post the Falklands conflict. These days it is probably more the case....many have lost any grand strategic perspective, and like many within general UK society now act selfishly to preserve their own interests and ambitions ....understanding national level duty and commitment in today's dynamic world is a lost ethos for many...not least our slimey politicians. How sad.
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MM4, please replicate or provide links to your references and quote what CNS stated, this thread is 50% meaningless to those of us overseas, or even worse..... Non-Telegraph readers. 
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