Corbin and CDS Squaring-Up
NutLoose,
I think you need to clarify your post. Are you suggesting that Kevan Jones or Ken Livingstone is really 'a person you want deciding Military policies'?
Kevan Jones was Veterans' Minister in the MoD during the Brown government and had been on the Defence Select Committee before that. As I recall, he was a knowledgeable and thoughtful individual and did "fit right in" as you suggestively put it. I don't see why having had a past depressive episode should cast any doubt on his ability to fulfil that role. I think it is probably desirable that ministers bring a range of different life experiences into government. In any case, I suspect a great many more servicemen (senior decision-makers included) have suffered mental illnesses than any statistics could reveal, for the very reason that Mr Jones stated in the house - they don't talk about it.
Now, if you are saying that Ken is unfit to be involved in military policy-making, I would tend to agree - not because of his left-wing views, which he is entitled to hold and apply to policy, but because of his long history of association with and support for individuals and movements antithetical to our national interest. Of course that can't stop Corbyn appointing him - but it should stop anyone taking the results of their policy commission seriously. Does anyone think that Ken might have a "lightbulb moment" and suddenly sign up to Trident renewal? No, I didn't think so.
I think you need to clarify your post. Are you suggesting that Kevan Jones or Ken Livingstone is really 'a person you want deciding Military policies'?
Kevan Jones was Veterans' Minister in the MoD during the Brown government and had been on the Defence Select Committee before that. As I recall, he was a knowledgeable and thoughtful individual and did "fit right in" as you suggestively put it. I don't see why having had a past depressive episode should cast any doubt on his ability to fulfil that role. I think it is probably desirable that ministers bring a range of different life experiences into government. In any case, I suspect a great many more servicemen (senior decision-makers included) have suffered mental illnesses than any statistics could reveal, for the very reason that Mr Jones stated in the house - they don't talk about it.
Now, if you are saying that Ken is unfit to be involved in military policy-making, I would tend to agree - not because of his left-wing views, which he is entitled to hold and apply to policy, but because of his long history of association with and support for individuals and movements antithetical to our national interest. Of course that can't stop Corbyn appointing him - but it should stop anyone taking the results of their policy commission seriously. Does anyone think that Ken might have a "lightbulb moment" and suddenly sign up to Trident renewal? No, I didn't think so.
The trouble is, for OUR democracy to work properly you need an effective and viable opposition.....
I wonder what the aim of this next adventure is. There isn't one? Who'd have thought?
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Yes, Ken Livingstone, Easy.
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'wonder what the aim of this next adventure is. There isn't one? Who'd have thought? '
Preventing POW pilots being burnt alive after social media votes -stopping gay people being thrown from buildings -airliners being blown up - city centres being attacked !
Chugalug - is internet search disabled on your pc or have you decided not to watch television or read papes ?
I guess you think ISIS are 'misunderstood' !
Preventing POW pilots being burnt alive after social media votes -stopping gay people being thrown from buildings -airliners being blown up - city centres being attacked !
Chugalug - is internet search disabled on your pc or have you decided not to watch television or read papes ?
I guess you think ISIS are 'misunderstood' !
'wonder what the aim of this next adventure is. There isn't one? Who'd have thought? '
Preventing POW pilots being burnt alive after social media votes -stopping gay people being thrown from buildings -airliners being blown up - city centres being attacked !
Chugalug - is internet search disabled on your pc or have you decided not to watch television or read papes ?
I guess you think ISIS are 'misunderstood' !
Preventing POW pilots being burnt alive after social media votes -stopping gay people being thrown from buildings -airliners being blown up - city centres being attacked !
Chugalug - is internet search disabled on your pc or have you decided not to watch television or read papes ?
I guess you think ISIS are 'misunderstood' !
The Iraqi Army is just a bad joke, achieving the dubious distinction of being second only to Saudi Arabia as the principle supporter of ISIS (or whatever we are supposed to call those monsters this week). The Syrian Army is too busy tackling its President's real opponents to bother too much with ISIS. The Kurds are the best bet, but supplying them is a no no because they are marginalised by Turkey, a NATO member. So whose boots will you put there, RD? Yours?
How many of these ill advised adventures does it take before the penny finally drops? The real Elephant in the Room is Saudi Arabia. Is that the war we want, or simply the one we will be dragged into? Wars are very easy to get into, especially when urged on by such as yourself. The tricky part is winning them and kidding yourself that what you set out to achieve has been...achieved. As I said before, what is the aim?
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Who said there are no boots on the ground? There are plenty of advisors on the ground.
'The Kurds are the best bet, but supplying them is a no no because they are marginalised by Turkey, a NATO member'
Except for the fact that Canadian forces have been helping them on the ground.
Indeed get on with it ! Maybe you should look into the treatment of the American woman who had her finger nails removed and was tortured and raped in the hands of ISIS if you feel that justification for war is 'thin' .
Wage an air campaign - remove the ability to regroup day and night -make movement impossible and watch them splinter as you degrade their ability to function. When that is achieved -let the ground forces finish them.
'The Kurds are the best bet, but supplying them is a no no because they are marginalised by Turkey, a NATO member'
Except for the fact that Canadian forces have been helping them on the ground.
Indeed get on with it ! Maybe you should look into the treatment of the American woman who had her finger nails removed and was tortured and raped in the hands of ISIS if you feel that justification for war is 'thin' .
Wage an air campaign - remove the ability to regroup day and night -make movement impossible and watch them splinter as you degrade their ability to function. When that is achieved -let the ground forces finish them.
The Syrian Army is too busy tackling its President's real opponents to bother too much with ISIS.
The Kurds are the best bet, but supplying them is a no no because they are marginalised by Turkey, a NATO member. So whose boots will you put there, RD? Yours?
The real Elephant in the Room is Saudi Arabia.
As I said before, what is the aim?
There are plenty of advisors on the ground.
...let the ground forces finish them.
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There is nothing to 'win' its not poker ! Its about stopping people who have no moral compunction and respect no borders . Do you not remember Bin Laden ?
Do you really think Assad cares about the Free Syrian Army ? He has the might of Russia on his side -peace talks will soon mean a departure for Assad for a nice vacation home on the Red Sea and the factions will decide that they want Syria and not ISIS.
Do you really think Assad cares about the Free Syrian Army ? He has the might of Russia on his side -peace talks will soon mean a departure for Assad for a nice vacation home on the Red Sea and the factions will decide that they want Syria and not ISIS.
Riley,
Events in Sangin amply demonstrate that if the aim is to deny safe haven to extremists, the only answers are permanent occupation or strong, competent sovereign government. Our Syrian strategy delivers neither.
Events in Sangin amply demonstrate that if the aim is to deny safe haven to extremists, the only answers are permanent occupation or strong, competent sovereign government. Our Syrian strategy delivers neither.
RD:-
Well you know that, and now that you've told me so do I. I just wonder though if the Saudis do, or their proxies, ISIS?
Thank heavens for that, or the guy with the poker face from the East would have taken the dupes, Obama, Cameron, Hollande, and Merkel to the cleaners!
LW50:-
I wonder what the price of that support might be? What have the Kurds been promised? Will those promises be kept? If it is to become a nation in their own right, it will be at the cost of Syria, Iraq and Turkey who will surround it and presumably be hostile. The Kurds will be dependant thereafter for continual financial aid and armaments from their sponsors. Remind us of a nearby state?
It seems to me that this adventure will depend on assurances made to Russia and to the Kurds by the West. The former will make the most of that in renewed influence in the Eastern Mediterranean. The latter would be well advised that the solemn and binding undertakings agreed upon are worth any paper whatsoever.
There is nothing to 'win'
its not poker !
LW50:-
Believe it or not, the US support for Kurds continues. Hopefully the UK will join in providing some support to them if they have not already
It seems to me that this adventure will depend on assurances made to Russia and to the Kurds by the West. The former will make the most of that in renewed influence in the Eastern Mediterranean. The latter would be well advised that the solemn and binding undertakings agreed upon are worth any paper whatsoever.
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I wonder if you have any idea of the bells that phrase rings? Vietnam started with advisors and ended with an army of conscripts defeated by little men with bicycles.
I'll get my coat
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Wise words, glad rag. Some here boasted that they had paid their £3 sub and voted for Corbyn. Well they succeeded and, according to "a senior Conservative Minister", we are about to go to war. At the very time that Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition should be holding the Government to account, they are instead going into self destruct mode. That may make life easy for the Prime Minister, but it bodes ill for this country.
I wonder what the aim of this next adventure is.
I wonder what the aim of this next adventure is.
"whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control"
The Kurds: playing the long game
The current chaos in Syria seems to defeat any reasonable prescription, even if its genesis is all too obvious to anyone who isn't viewing it from the preconceived position that most western politicians take. Let's just observe that we don't hear the phrase "Arab Spring" too much these days.
One source of excellent reporting on the region comes from what many might regard as an unlikely source, namely the New York Review of Books whose website makes some of the content available to non-subscribers. The following link is from a recent issue and describes the activities of the Kurdish opposition. The Kurds are in the unenviable position of having their heartland split between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran and have been steadily consolidating their interests over many decades, against fierce opposition, with the ultimate objective being an independent Kurdistan.
It may well be that the Kurds are the only faction likely to come out of the current conflict with any benefit. Of course the Turks (who have contributed hugely to the current devastation of Syria) are scared witless of an increasingly militarily equipped and experienced Kurdish autonomous region. The article's well worth reading by anyone with more than a superficial interest in the conflict.
The Syrian Kurds Are Winning! by Jonathan Steele | The New York Review of Books
One source of excellent reporting on the region comes from what many might regard as an unlikely source, namely the New York Review of Books whose website makes some of the content available to non-subscribers. The following link is from a recent issue and describes the activities of the Kurdish opposition. The Kurds are in the unenviable position of having their heartland split between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran and have been steadily consolidating their interests over many decades, against fierce opposition, with the ultimate objective being an independent Kurdistan.
It may well be that the Kurds are the only faction likely to come out of the current conflict with any benefit. Of course the Turks (who have contributed hugely to the current devastation of Syria) are scared witless of an increasingly militarily equipped and experienced Kurdish autonomous region. The article's well worth reading by anyone with more than a superficial interest in the conflict.
The Syrian Kurds Are Winning! by Jonathan Steele | The New York Review of Books
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The whole war countdown is so useful for the Conservatives on so many levels. They have very successfully focused attention onto Corbyn and away from the close scrutiny of the debate. All 4 major UK broadsheets have focused on Labour splits to a greater extent than the real issue.
Its a crying shame for our democracy, and generally shows up the current incredibly shallow level of attention of our nation.
Glads yes he dresses poorly in that photo and obviously lives amongst the ordinary people, is that such a bad thing, really? I'm more interested in what he and many are saying about the state of the debate, our so called free press, the reason for war, and many other uncomfortable topics of the minute.
Its a crying shame for our democracy, and generally shows up the current incredibly shallow level of attention of our nation.
Glads yes he dresses poorly in that photo and obviously lives amongst the ordinary people, is that such a bad thing, really? I'm more interested in what he and many are saying about the state of the debate, our so called free press, the reason for war, and many other uncomfortable topics of the minute.
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If Corbyn could come up with a coherent and adult argument that would sort of help hold the government to account (the role of HM Loyal Opposition). The Labour Party have saddled themselves with a kind of Pinocchio figure; he wants to be a real politician but he isn't mature enough to not need all his strings pulling.
