ThunderDragon Blog

Douglas Carswell, Conservative MP for Harwich and Clacton, was thrown off the armed forces parliamentary scheme for speaking up for our soldiers in Afghanistan, who he says are poorly equipped:

Having learnt from our troops on the ground some of the serious problems with helicopter shortages, and then raised the issue responsibly, I found myself slung off the scheme…

The defence budget is being spent in the interests of some contractors, not our armed forces.

Damning indictments. Especially since the MoD could have replaced the Lynx with US Black Hawk helicopters, but had already committed to a new Lynx generation apparently costing twice as much.

Of course, how truthful this may be I do not know. But it does appear that, in the very least, our defence budget is not being spent properly. Whether this is the fault of the MoD or the defence contractors, however… But it must be fixed.

Image: Douglas Carswell

The Ministry of Defence is finally allowing members of the armed forces to march in the Gay Pride parade in their uniform. Good.

The only difference between homosecual and heterosexual people is the gender of their preferred partner in bed.

That gay soldiers and sailors can all march in their uniform and show that the military is not homophobic is an unqualified Good Thing. Homophobia must be stamped out both in the military and everywhere else.

I look forward to the day when events such as Gay Pride simply aren’t required, because no-one is treated any differently based on their sexuality.

That day cannot come soon enough.

Only a few days ago I wrote about the government brokering a deal to ban the use of cluster bombs. A treaty, signed by 108 other countries, which I applauded because cluster bombs are abhorrent.

Yet it appears that all cluster bombs haven’t been banned. Gordon Brown has actually negotiated a loophole for Britain to continue using cluster bombs, despite announcing support for “a ban on all cluster bombs, including those currently in service by the UK”. Let’s read that again “a ban on all cluster bombs”.

Except some new anti-tank cluster bombs, which have conveniently been recategorised as outside the definition of a cluster bomb.

Brown’s intervention in Dublin does mean an end to Britain’s two existing “smart” cluster munitions. The M85 artillery shell, which splits up into 49 bomblets and was last used in Iraq, will be taken out of service immediately. The M73 rocket, fired from the army’s Apache helicopters, contains nine bomblets and is deployed in Afghanistan. It will be phased out over eight years. By then the new ballistic sensor fused munition shell will be in service. The shell splits into two bomblets that descend on small parachutes, which make them particularly attractive to children if they do not detonate. (The Times)

Since when does a ban on cluster weapons not mean a ban on cluster weapons? When they’re Gordon Brown’s cluster weapons. Signing a treaty to ban cluster bombs, and then taking eight years to phase out the current ones - which they originally wanted to exclude from the treaty anyway - and ordering an entirely new batch is just unbelievable.

If they didn’t want to stop using cluster bombs immediately, they shouldn’t have signed the treaty.

They’re ahorrent. The very way they act is just morally unacceptable in the modern world. Their use in modern warfare just cannot be justified, especially considering that “normal” wars between massed armies no longer actually happen. So cluster bombs are just killing innocents [or at least non-combatants].

So this treaty signed by 109 countries to ban the use of cluster bombs must be applauded.

The main problem now being that this is only 109 countures that have signed the treaty - and the US, Russia, China, India, Pakistand, and Isreal are not among them.

Another issue over this comes from the fact that even if we make a moral stand and refuse to use these weapons, our enemies are not necessarily bound by the same, so our soldiers [or even ourselves] may be potentially put in danger. But this is such a teeny tiny possibility that is far outweighed by the undeniable benefits.

That cluster bombs are not to be used any more by Britain or 109 other countries is undeniably a good thing. But that all countries, including major powers, have not signed up is a very bad thing indeed. Those countries ought to be ashamed of themselves.

It appears that being a teacher really is no guarantee that you’re not a fucking moron, as demonstrated by the National Union Teachers. They want to ban the Ministry of Defence from giving talks to students on a potential career in the military, because they use “misleading propaganda”.

Apparently they don’t give a true enough picture of life in the armed forces. Bollocks. Besides, any half-intelligent person would, y’know, check up on the details before they took a job.

And they really did come out with some complete bollocks:

Any one who can say this with a straight face really is too stupid to be a teacher. Even a PE teacher.

It isn’t up to teachers to decide what careers their students should consider. It is their duty as educators to provide all the information to their students to enable them to make their own informed and intelligent choices - not just the ones their teachers would prefer them to make.

Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. And those who can’t teach go to NUT conferences and pass idiotic Leftist motions like this.

UPDATE: Two teachers object to the NUT’s statements.

So Prince Harry, third in line to the throne, is fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, Helmand Province. And? This makes bugger all difference. Who cares? It’s not like he’s ever expected to become King Henry IX. He’s the “spare”, as they say.

He’s supposed to be making a proper army career, not just doing it as work experience. If he were to be prevented from going to the front line, this would be impossible. That he was not sent to Iraq was probably a good thing, on balance, considering the heat of the fighting there. But Afghanistan, on the other hand, isn’t as dangerous to the other soldiers.

The media blackout over Harry’s trip was good. If it had been common knowledge that he was there from the start, that would have made it dangerous for his fellow soldiers. That is was broken by foreign media, however, was bad. They should be ashamed of themselves.

However, the massive amount of reports over Harry’s tour of duty now that it has been broken is massively unnecessary. There is no need for an extended BBC News. It’s really not important enough. Were they to be focusing on the entire situation in Afghanistan, yes. But not when the entire focus is on Harry himself.

It’s all well and good to say that soldiers should act morally at all times, this is really taking it to the extreme:

Part of a soldier’s job is to kill. If they go into battle, what should they be doing:

(a) checking their morality handbook, or
(b) trying to stay alive and kill the enemy.

Which would you do? Me too.

This really is an absurd idea. Ensuring that soldiers understand what is acceptable moral behaviour and what isn’t is surely good practice. But expecting them to carry around a guide to moral behaviour is ridiculous and demeaning to our soldiers.

On this day of all days we should all wear the poppy with pride, to remember those who have died in service of their country.

Use the two minutes of silence at 11am to remember them.

Whilst I’m not convinced by the sentiment, that is such a brilliant placard slogan. 21st century culture in an age-old format!

Matt M, from whom I found the picture, wonders whether it is sad that he immediately understood it’s meaning. It’s really not. Few people don’t know any HTML coding in this day and age, and even if they don’t know HTML, the meaning is still clear even if gained just through logical deduction or context.

I just think it’s brilliant.