What are we doing?

Hi All,

Wars. And Rumours of wars. 

Whatever you think about Syria, I wish in one sense those who will make the decisions would be in the front line. In the ancient times , Emperors,  Kings and Queens, would lead their feudal  nobility and common soldiers on the battlefield.  Even in world war one , the junior officers - mostly upper class aristocracy suffered a greater per capita loss rate , as they were * trained* to lead from the front. In the second world war and later wars , the politicians had at least had a taste of war in their youth or had experience of some form of warfare , whether on the home front or battlefield. Somehow I can't see May on a white horse boudicca like. Or Trump doing an Andrew Jackson.

Today there's the generation of western politicians , from Blair, Clinton , Bush onward , who get warfare either from Hollywood or the idea it will be always like gulf war 1 :  i.e. quickly done,massive victory without external challenge or civilian casualties. Unfortunately those wars were very much like the German wars or unification or the  colonial wars of the 19th century.  Now it's all different. If anyone thinks bombing Syria , who has  Russian support and more importantly anti aircraft batteries,  is going to be easy or short or a quick win and not have the potential to escalate into a larger  bloodletting conflict, then they need to check their sanity.

In Britain's case I think we are insane. The fact is this government has slashed the defence forces to a crippling degree and the cuts continue. Why then are we seeing government ministers salivating & doing the best Churchill impressions, at the prospect of entering a war with the defence forces at their weakest , since at least the 1930s? 

Yes we've got this big carrier. But the aircraft that are supposed to be on them?  The sufficient number of  anti submarine, anti aircraft destroyers?  The landing platforms, that are being flogged off?  The soldiers?  Have we ever gone into a conflict with such a contrast between whatever politicians say and what they've done to the very force that's supposed to execute those grandiose objectives? 

Furthermore we have to ask ourselves is what I call   Tony Blair's "liberal imperialism"  an appropriate strategy for a multi polar world?  Who ,exactly, appointed the west to be - an incredibly inconsistent( to wit Africa, Burma etc)  - cop, judge , jury and executioner for the world? 

And herein lies the problem. No-one really knows what it is we are fighting and what we are fighting for and how this ends . In other wars that's been clear. 

But this one?  

Can people tell me?