Do our armed forces make us safer?
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 1,958
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Do our armed forces make us safer?
Is the work of UK's armed forces as currently deployed making us any safer? The argument has been made that in some ways it actually increases our exposure to attack. While I don't necessarily go along with that, just in today's paper I read of a Yemeni wedding party blown to bits (no apology) and see a photo of a captured Taliban fighter stripped naked, blindfolded and cuffed with cable ties; it's not hard to see how this sort of thing gives plenty of ammo to focus hate on us. Associated question: does it matter? Does doing "the right thing" override the "safety" question ?
"YES" 24/7 with SAR and MRTs plus other support functions like the ARCC, etc...
Plus a number will be making it safer for you this coming Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and 3rd of January...
I think the question you should be asking is " Does British Defence Policy make us safer?". I can categorically answer "yes" to HMForces making us safer!
LJ
Plus a number will be making it safer for you this coming Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and 3rd of January...
I think the question you should be asking is " Does British Defence Policy make us safer?". I can categorically answer "yes" to HMForces making us safer!
LJ
Last edited by Lima Juliet; 22nd Dec 2013 at 10:00.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 1,958
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Leon, yes that may have been a better way to phrase the question. Courtney no I'm certainly not a Galloway fan -but are you telling us his criticisms of Blair re Iraq have been proved incorrect.?
if we brought every single bit of our Military home....yours to the UK....mine to the USA....no presence or activity whatsoever outside our own Borders and sea frontiers.....do you really think we would be less a target than we are now?
Do you think the Radical Islamists would just say "Thank You! Von Voyage!" and everything would be all Kisses and Hugs and they would go back to herding Goats or whatever they do when not waging Jihad?
Do you think the Radical Islamists would just say "Thank You! Von Voyage!" and everything would be all Kisses and Hugs and they would go back to herding Goats or whatever they do when not waging Jihad?
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: N. Spain
Age: 80
Posts: 1,311
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
if we brought every single bit of our Military home....yours to the
UK....mine to the USA....no presence or activity whatsoever outside our own
Borders and sea frontiers.....do you really think we would be less a target than we are now?
Do you think the Radical Islamists would just say "Thank
You! Von Voyage!" and everything would be all Kisses and Hugs and they would go back to herding Goats or whatever they do when not waging Jihad?
UK....mine to the USA....no presence or activity whatsoever outside our own
Borders and sea frontiers.....do you really think we would be less a target than we are now?
Do you think the Radical Islamists would just say "Thank
You! Von Voyage!" and everything would be all Kisses and Hugs and they would go back to herding Goats or whatever they do when not waging Jihad?
On the bright side, our guys and gals will be out of harms way
if we brought every single bit of our Military home....yours to the UK....mine to the USA....no presence or activity whatsoever outside our own Borders and sea frontiers.....do you really think we would be less a target than we are now?
In and out staying nowhere.
People will say it won't work but V body bags at Brize Norton or Dover AFB then worth a try.
Russians proved in Beirut in 1980's that kidnap their personnel they send a quick message that could not be misunderstood.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
The Armed Services have many, many roles that don't get the same visibility of Afg. Anti-drug patrols in the Caribbean; humanitarian missions; maintaining sovereignty and security overseas.
As for intervention in Afg, you might argue that deploying those sorts of numbers for Homeland Security might achieve a similar aim.
As for intervention in Afg, you might argue that deploying those sorts of numbers for Homeland Security might achieve a similar aim.
Russians proved in Beirut in 1980's that kidnap their personnel they send a quick message that could not be misunderstood.
Here's yer Bro's Wedding Tackle....take a hint, eh!
One does have to admire professionally done work doesn't One!
Here's yer Bro's Wedding Tackle....take a hint, eh!
Here's yer Bro's Wedding Tackle....take a hint, eh!
Definitely universal sign language.....that translates into any language!
For those who don't recall the events that lead up to the "signaling" of intentions by the KGB.
Hostages? No Problem Soviets Offer 'How-to' Lesson In Kidnapping - Philly.com
For those who don't recall the events that lead up to the "signaling" of intentions by the KGB.
Hostages? No Problem Soviets Offer 'How-to' Lesson In Kidnapping - Philly.com
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 1,958
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sasless you asked "if we brought our boys home.....?" Simple answer, I don't know, my post was a genuine, not a rhetorical, question. But if you're telling us they ARE safeguarding us from radical Islam, you're on shaky ground if only because of the huge amount of blood and treasure we've spent removing regimes which used to deal very harshly with such people.
I am being serious too.
I see both sides of the argument about why the this particular Chicken crossed the road.....but in the final analysis I think regardless of bringing our Troops home we are still going to be targeted by Terrorists of the Radical Islamist style as their brand of Islam just is not compatible or tolerant of our system of beliefs.
So to me...one can argue both ways and be right....but wrong at the same time.
What I do think.....is the Russians get it!
They understand what works and are not afraid to do what works when needed.
We saw that with some Somali Pirates too.
The Russian Navy boarded the ship the Pirates had taken....wounded one of the Pirates and showed him scant attention, loaded the Pirates onto the Pirate Vessel and sent them on their way until just before Dark. Then there was a bit of boom bang....lots of sparks, flame, fire, and smoke. The next day.....it was reported the Pirate vessel had disappeared to parts unknown.
Neptune's Locker we know....but problem solved.
It is very hard to argue with success.
I see both sides of the argument about why the this particular Chicken crossed the road.....but in the final analysis I think regardless of bringing our Troops home we are still going to be targeted by Terrorists of the Radical Islamist style as their brand of Islam just is not compatible or tolerant of our system of beliefs.
So to me...one can argue both ways and be right....but wrong at the same time.
What I do think.....is the Russians get it!
They understand what works and are not afraid to do what works when needed.
We saw that with some Somali Pirates too.
The Russian Navy boarded the ship the Pirates had taken....wounded one of the Pirates and showed him scant attention, loaded the Pirates onto the Pirate Vessel and sent them on their way until just before Dark. Then there was a bit of boom bang....lots of sparks, flame, fire, and smoke. The next day.....it was reported the Pirate vessel had disappeared to parts unknown.
Neptune's Locker we know....but problem solved.
It is very hard to argue with success.
The Russian Navy boarded the ship the Pirates had taken....wounded one of the Pirates and showed him scant attention, loaded the Pirates onto the Pirate Vessel and sent them on their way until just before Dark. Then there was a bit of boom bang....lots of sparks, flame, fire, and smoke. The next day.....it was reported the Pirate vessel had disappeared to parts unknown.
Neptune's Locker we know....but problem solved.
It is very hard to argue with success.
Neptune's Locker we know....but problem solved.
It is very hard to argue with success.
OTOH neither does anybody else
and nobody appears to be rushing to investigate.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 1,958
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's very tempting but the trouble with the Russian case, and I'm not in favour of being fluffy with either pirates or terrorists, is there is a price to pay. In the pirate case, by the real owners of the "pirate" vessel. The pirates certainly didn't buy it and the original crew may or may not have been on board as it went to Davy Jones.
In the other case, if you trust your government to cut anyone's tackle off when they feel like it, how do you make them stop with terrorists and not extend the same procedure to annoying political opponents?
In the other case, if you trust your government to cut anyone's tackle off when they feel like it, how do you make them stop with terrorists and not extend the same procedure to annoying political opponents?
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 217
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
In the other case, if you trust your government to cut anyone's tackle off when they feel like it, how do you make them stop with terrorists and not extend the same procedure to annoying political opponents?
Shotone,
"In the other case, if you trust your government to cut anyone's tackle off when they feel like it, how do you make them stop with terrorists and not extend the same procedure to annoying political opponents?"
Interesting, I see in a couple of papers today that our beloved Government is now proposing laws to restrict the so called "hate preachers" of the Muslim faith. I suspect that any such law might have to be a little more general than Muslim hate preachers. That being the case, how long after the law comes in to force will anyone who criticises the current government be "put through the wringer" by the lads in blue ? We don't need laws, we need honest representation in our parliament, where MPs represent their electorate, and don't kowtow to their party whips. I suppose, at my age, I should get real and understand that democracy went out of the window years ago.
Smudge
"In the other case, if you trust your government to cut anyone's tackle off when they feel like it, how do you make them stop with terrorists and not extend the same procedure to annoying political opponents?"
Interesting, I see in a couple of papers today that our beloved Government is now proposing laws to restrict the so called "hate preachers" of the Muslim faith. I suspect that any such law might have to be a little more general than Muslim hate preachers. That being the case, how long after the law comes in to force will anyone who criticises the current government be "put through the wringer" by the lads in blue ? We don't need laws, we need honest representation in our parliament, where MPs represent their electorate, and don't kowtow to their party whips. I suppose, at my age, I should get real and understand that democracy went out of the window years ago.
Smudge