1. Gordon Brown has announced the final British withdrawal from Iraq will take place this coming year. As
this opinion piece notes, it is a humiliating retreat, littered with failure and hubris. I know from old colleagues that morale in the Army is at a pretty low ebb. The Blair Doctrine, which was to make the UK indispensable to the US through unquestioning obedience, has failed utterly - as the article rightly notes, the US military establishment views Britain with a mixture of contempt and anxiety.
2. Other threads have been discussing Britain's role in Europe, and I am usually amused by the close-held beliefs sometimes expressed that the UK can somehow retain an aloof standing, relying on her ties across the Atlantic. There appears to be more stomach for becoming the 51st inconsequential state than to be a partner of equals. The nostalgia for a time when she was a power of note is palpable. But when, on this recent occasion, required to live up to that role, she has failed.
3.
It raises questions about the stamina of our nation and the resolve of our political class. It is an uncomfortable conclusion that Britain, with nuclear weapons, cruise missiles, aircraft carriers and the latest generation of fighter-bombers, is incapable of securing a medium-size conurbation. Making Basra safe was an essential part of the overall strategy; having committed ourselves to our allies we let them down.
4. I note that the Prime Minister has also now sold off the last interest in Aldermaston to a Californian company, so that there is no longer any direct control over the manufacture of nuclear arms. (No doubt taxpayers will be particularly pleased at the price commanded in this most robust of markets). Why then, as the article touches, is so much money being spent on renewing the Trident programme? Pure, unfounded pride? Let's be frank - if the United Nations were ever to face reform towards relevance, does anyone think the UK would retain her top seat?
5. What exactly do orgahs think the role of the United Kingdom in world affairs should be? Is it not time to wholeheartedly embrace a key role in the development of a European force? Aim to be a cog in an increasingly disoriented NATO? Or should it be to downsize to cope with purely national interests alone?
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