Money to burn in UK

The financial cost to the UK of the Iraq & Afghanistan invasions have now passed £20 billion. That figure does not include the wages of the troops and neither does it include the ongoing cost of caring for the wounded who must now be in their thousands although detailed figures are not released.

We are of course, still in Afghanistan with troops numbering over 10,000 and so the cost is ever increasing and not just the financial cost with the numbers of the military killed now reaching 300 wasted young lives.

As has been said by many people, not just me, this escapade cannot be won so if you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging. We will get out eventually without a satisfactory conclusion, so why not do it now and save enormous sums of money that we cannot afford and lives too. Perhaps then it will not be considered so necessary to impoverish so many of our own citizens.

Military Families to Sue MoD…..Why?

Four families of servicemen killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan by roadside bombs whilst in ‘Snatch’ Land Rovers are suing the MoD for compensation.

Come on! If you join the armed forces you do so knowing that there is a risk of injury, disablement or even death, it’s not all mountaineering, skiing and piss ups with your mates.

I feel very sorry indeed for the loss that these families must feel and even more sorry for the young men who died but no amount of money (even if they win the case which I doubt) will make up for it.

Brown Keeps it Secret

It can only be a week ago that Gordon Brown promised there would be a change in the way that he and  his government operates. More openness, more transparency, more accountability was his cry. Hooray we said, the leopard can change it’s spots or at least that’s what we hoped, whilst mostly unsuccessfully holding back the doubts.

So here we are digesting the long awaited announcement of an inquiry into the lead up to the Iraq invasion. Same old recognisable leopard, the one that creeps about shrouded in the darkness of secrecy. An inquiry committee selected from the Privy Council, that unaccountable bunch of the establishment appointed by the unaccountable Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. Nothing in public, evidence not given under oath, no one forced to give evidence, no one to be blamed for anything, not even hundreds of thousands of deaths and the report not to be released until after the general election.

Yet another secret non event, as I suggest there will be little new to actually be published and the average blogger or political commentator could probably write the report for them now and save them the trouble and expense.

Brown had his chance of some new spots and blew it and whitewash certainly wont cover them up.