tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821544239627177055.post3049553635760465352..comments2024-01-29T00:00:28.464+02:00Comments on MunteanUK: A military power of ‘first rank’ decimated by budgetary cuts [O putere militară de ‘prim rang’ decimată de tăieri bugetare]MunteanUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076516846278419749noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821544239627177055.post-13320778084885789002011-02-09T18:04:18.505+02:002011-02-09T18:04:18.505+02:00Some links that I find relevant to add here, discu...Some links that I find relevant to add here, discussing some already emerging problems for UK's aerial defense:<br /><br />http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339971/RAF-chief-Greg-Bagwell-Spending-cuts-mean-air-force-little-better-Belgiums.html<br /><br />http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/8284935/Scrapping-the-RAFs-4bn-Nimrod-fleet-risks-UK-security.html<br /><br />***<br /><br />Right now, it seems 'unlikely' that the air space of Britain could be threatened again like in the years of WWII...<br /><br />...however, 'never say never' - it's all in Lord's hands, and God forbid the moment when Britain will have to pay for what it has financially 'saved' in 2010!MunteanUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04076516846278419749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821544239627177055.post-42872420993418300212010-11-14T18:18:09.705+02:002010-11-14T18:18:09.705+02:00@ Gregor (part 2)
[5] I fully agree - as I once s...@ Gregor (part 2)<br /><br />[5] I fully agree - as I once said before on this blog - that David Cameron's support for Saakashvilli was pretty stupid.<br /><br />But I wouldn't be too harsh on him, because:<br /><br />- a) the more or less official position of NATO 'heavyweights' (USA) was that Georgia should be invited to be part of the Alliance.<br /><br />- b) Cameron was then the leader of Her Majesty's Opposition, thus he could 'afford' to have wacky ideas; I hope he renounced them by now.<br /><br />Anyway, I think that Georgia's designation as a NATO candidate country is off the agenda these days. We'll see more at the soon coming NATO Summit in Lisbon.<br /><br />***<br /><br />[6] I think Britain, as an island nation with commercial ties all over the world, still 'needs' a mighty military; I wouldn't say it's just a question of national ego.<br /><br />However, what the UK needs is a strong Navy, not necessarily an Army to fight America's or EU's wars...<br /><br />***<br /><br />[7] What you say about "some kind of economically right-wing English nationalism beating the Scots to voting for seceding from the UK" sounds very interesting to me...<br /><br />Do you think that this is possible, because, as you probably know, the mainstream media in the UK seem to describe nationalists as mere 'lunatics' or as dangerous politically incorrect extremists?<br /><br />One can rarely read (I mean from my position, as a foreign observer) serious analyses on British nationalism and a 'referendum for secession' in England has never been a topic to read about.<br /><br />How would such an English insular state (based on a Swiss model) look like?MunteanUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04076516846278419749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821544239627177055.post-90248891376426155792010-11-14T17:51:54.902+02:002010-11-14T17:51:54.902+02:00@ Gregor (part 1)
My dearest Gregor,
Thank you v...@ Gregor (part 1)<br /><br />My dearest Gregor,<br /><br />Thank you very much for adding a comment which - as always :-) - gives me the chance to offer my own extensive comments on British contemporary realities.<br /><br />Obviously, I am not an expert, I've got no 'inside information', but we can still - only the Lord know for how long - enjoy this opportunity of commenting freely on the internet.<br /><br />Here's what I could comment on your comment this time...<br /><br />[1] I equally find the future of the British armed forces pretty bleak; and it's a shame.<br /><br />It's a pity to witness all (or most) national armies in Europe turned into bunches of 'soldiers of fortune'. They are more or less becoming a useless burden for the taxpayer.<br /><br />Only a 'top layer' of service men and women meet NATO standards in training and can be used in missions abroad, while the rest of the armed forces remain a sort of amorphous 'bulk' whose value in combat is very 'unpredictible'.<br /><br />I thought that this applies only to Romania & other poorer countries, but I bet things are the same for Britain, France or Germany.<br /><br />Apart from the USA & Turkey, I don't know other NATO counties where people are still regarding their national armed forces as an 'asset' :-(<br /><br />***<br /><br />[2] Given the fact that Romanians have always had to fight agressors from the North-East, West and South (it is said that only the Black Sea, to our SE, was a true 'ally') I tend to have a great respect for those who died in battles for the county.<br /><br />During every Divine Liturgy in the Romanian Orthodox Church, there's a short prayer for those who died on battlefields, in camps and prisons defending the country and the faith...<br /><br />Moreover, Ascension Day is a special day for remembering all the (known as well as unknown)heroes of the nation.<br /><br />Having these in mind, and irrespective of my reluctance to embrace any heterodox beliefs, I was very impressed with this 'sanctuary' in Edinburgh...<br /><br />The Scottish National War Memorial<br />http://www.snwm.org/<br /><br />And now I dare raise a rather rethorical question, as I assume what your answer will be...<br /><br />Do you think that such a memorial will ever be built for those who died as servants of an institution meant "to satisfy the vanity of our leaders and journalists and their internationalist utilitarian goals"???<br /><br />***<br /><br />[3] I think we have discussed thoroughly on this blog the extent to which today's Britain is still under the spell of an idealisation of WWII. We probably have a common view on this issue.<br /><br />***<br /><br />[4] Was there such a consensus on the Afghanistan & Iraq wars in the UK? <br /><br />Then why was George W. Bush (according to his book "Decision Points") 'worried' that his 'poodle' in Downing Street 10 could lose political support if he committed troops to Iraq?<br /><br />I know that you wouldn't be surprised if Bush lied... Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has already dismissed one of Bush's claims in that book.MunteanUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04076516846278419749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821544239627177055.post-29519182603671577822010-11-13T21:04:05.727+02:002010-11-13T21:04:05.727+02:00Interesting post Bogdan, but I think things are ve...Interesting post Bogdan, but I think things are very bleak for the British armed forces. <br /><br />My grandfather and uncle both served in the military, and I am very close to my uncle Douglas who is the exact opposite of how one might imagine a 'soldier' to be, being one of the most cheerful, friendly people I know.<br /><br />But I don't think he would join the army now. The British army is not (as it was from the 70s to early 90s) a British force for defending British sovereignty, but essentially an institution to satisfy the vanity of our leaders and journalists and their internationalist utilitarian goals. <br /><br /> It is a strange paradox that post-imperial British pride is largely built on an idealisation of a militaristic era (WWII) whilst politicians and journalists think nothing of exploiting the armed forces. British print and telvisual media is absurdly fixated on WWII which seems to ingrain a weird idea of British decency amongst foreign madness. <br /><br />Whilst I wouldn't defend New Labour's military policies, it is also the case that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were very popular across the political spectrum and that there was astounding popularity for supporting Saakashvilli's idiotic attack on civilians and provocation of Russia! David Cameron even said that Saakashvilli should get NATO membership!<br /><br />However, when it comes to paying for military ventures, the Brit media/ politicians tend to shift their feet and get embarrassed. <br /><br />It is one reason why I think that the issue of Scottish Nationalism cannot be understood in the paradigm of normal seperatism. Britain as a nation lives in hyper-reality where everyone wants a mighty military but no-one wants to pay for it. In fact, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if some kind of economically right-wing English nationalism beats the Scots to voting for seceding from the UK and tries to set up a Swiss style insular state. I don't know if this will happen, but when the English outgrow their dualistic Churchillian fantasy (and WWII comes to be seen as a messy affair largely fought between two tyrants) it would seem a logical outcome.Gregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14729641571904025752noreply@blogger.com