Войска ПВО: Thank you. Like all Americans you have an admirable capacity for humility when the situation calls for it and I accept your apology whole-heartedly. May we continue to debate passionately in the future. And thank you for your service – we always had superb support from US fast-air when the RAF couldn’t get there. And I wish to Christ the weather here would allow me to wear my friggin’ shorts even indoors.
seguin: Agreed, we did get more than anyone else, which would be fitting for your closest ally, wouldn’t it? We had to use it to repay the huge loan made in ’45 and the rest of Lend-Lease. Not so the defeated European allies and former enemies, who invested in their infrastructure and had no loans to repay. We owe you a debt of thanks for saving us, and unlike some in Europe, we remember. But that doesn’t mean we’ll slavishly follow you without question: You will have to explain stuff to us and listen to our perspective before we throw our not insignificant weight in behind you.
Clifton G: “Obama is a student of Saul Alinsky an avowed Marxist.” Good. I like a well read man prepared to study across the spectrum of philosophies and beliefs. I happen to know he’s also a student of Churchill BTW. You would hope that the most powerful man in the World was well educated and I personally would always want my leaders to be my superiors in intellect and knowledge. If you’re seriously suggesting that he is somehow a deep cover communist mole, then I prefer to read that as an indication of the depth of disappointment Republicans feel in the aftermath of the election, rather than a thoughtful contention. I am confident he will win over the majority of his detractors and doubters in time.
When I was younger I used to fear the election of the Labour party, knowing that defence cuts inevitably followed which would deprive me and my comrades (no commie intonation there BTW…) of spares for our tanks (the glorious ‘Chieftain’ and ‘Challenger 1’ – damned good tanks if they broke down in a decent fire position!) and the accompanying paltry wages. What I realised later in my career was that we can bark all we like about the vagaries of governments, their policies and mistakes, but we should recognise that in doing so we are free and will remain free. That’s what I’ve been fighting for these past 31 years. I think it’s important that we should rejoice in each peaceful change of government, as it is the ultimate expression of democracy. And though I will happily die for democracy, I really don’t think that the’ Arabosphere’ (you read it here first) is ready for the concept, which is after all born of a very different culture and history. And we can’t enforce it. And in trying to do so, we risk disaster and further conflagration in the region. Iraq is far from over yet….
I recently left the Army, having joined at 17 as a tank driver (4 years before I learnt to drive a car – go figure). I will probably have to return ‘To the Colours’ as a reserve officer, next year when we ramp up our efforts in Afghanistan in concert with the US (and Hail to the USMC – excellent bastards). I’m not sure we can ‘win’ (and my still serving friends and I debate this issue endlessly) in the traditional, conventional sense, but we may stabilise the environment leading to an eventual diplomatic/political solution. We did it in Northern Ireland, where both we and the IRA realised there was ultimately no military solution for either side (sure we could have hard-cored it and killed hundreds of thousands a la the French in Algeria, but though that was arguably a ‘military victory’ it was essentially Pyrrhic in nature). It may take the better part of 30 years and thousands of lives. Patience and commitment is the key.
