Fools Rush In (Again)

Conflict is, by nature, hard to predict. Over the years the Tories

appear to have made some extraordinary decisions on defence, presumably based on some prophetic sense beyond the powers of other mortals.

In 1981, senior Chiefs warned the cuts to the defence budget by the Conservative Government of the time, would have a direct effect on Britain's capability to engage militarily. Unless it was a nuclear war, of course.

If Argentina's General Galtieri had invaded the Falklands in 1983 rather than 1982 then the Navy would never have been able to construct any kind of 'Task Force' to defend the islands.

There are so many parallels between 1981 and 2011. Already we have seen the pitiful sight of the modern warship, HMS Ark Royal, decommissioned for scrap, a fleet of new Nimrods dismantled and 170 pilots sacked immediately prior to completing their four year's training. That is £4m of investment per pilot just abandoned.

Yesterday, David Cameron was going full throttle on establishing a 'no-fly zone' over Tripoli despite clear US reservations. Such a military strategy needs enforcing with aircraft and personnel but today the MOD announced a further 2,700 RAF redundancies and the loss of two squadrons of Tornadoes. We face the perverse outcome of some troops returning from Helmand getting their service medals together with their P45s.

Afghanistan aside, there is a wider strategic issue - these cuts mean the UK will not be able to respond to many, as yet, unforseeable conflicts. If Kosovo were to have happened now then we would not have been able to contribute let alone lead.

For a party which constantly drapes itself in the flag, the Tories have funny way of showing they are patriots.