Saturday 25 January 2014

Multiculturalism not the reason for war-weariness

How typical of this duplicitous coalition government that its Ministry of Defence thinks the main reason for the "growing reluctance" in this country "to see troops deployed on the ground in future operations" is multiculturalism. How disingenuous to suggest that because fighting is more likely to be either against Muslims, or in countries whence many people, or their families, originally came, is more likely to be the reason for Britain`s war-weariness than the lack of trust for politicians. Does not the seemingly endless daily roll-call of dead soldiers on the news recently, or the undertaking to send our soldiers into unwinnable and unecessary wars, or Britain`s position in world affairs as America`s poodle, at her beck and call to appease her rightwing bias and warmongering defence industry have rather more claim as reasons to "reject foreign conflict"? Sadly, the article suggested that the army`s struggle to recruit regulars and reservists had more to do with "falling unemployment" than with a distaste for unjust conflict.
      As Seumas Milne rightly said recently, it`s clearly time for "transparency and accountability" in everything connected with foreign affairs. Hopefully, Labour will see this as an opportunity to introduce into the debate the necessity for an ethical and independent foreign policy, devoid of cold war rhetoric, let alone nuclear weapons!  
 


 

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