Sir Richard Dannatt slams Blair and Brown

Comments

[Super Blue]

A damning indictment of Labour's treatment of our armed forces.

[Tony Makara]

The Labour government was directly responsible for deaths and injuries that could have been avoided. This has to be said openly. The public has to understand this.

[Bill]

Sorry it's the Daily Wail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1299401/General-Sir-Richard-Dannatt-quits-Government-defence-adviser.html - given his provenance it's hardly surprising he's sounding off.

I don't doubt the last government could have done much more, but equally I doubt this one will manage any better.

[Yet Another Anon]

Defence has been underfunded for 20 years now, talk of a peace dividend was a myth, there are always security problems and potential problems, when the USSR broke up a lot of nuclear material was poorly documented in many cases looted or sold by scientists who hadn't been paid for some time, arms sold by soldiers who hadn't been paid, the growth of China and of Al Qaeda, growth in power of Iran - new powers are emerging, both economic and military, North Korea could decide to launch an attack on other couyntries at any time, new problems.

Political parties talk of being strong on defence and then slash it back, and talk of peace dividends, new words but much the same moves as was done by the Natiuonal Gover4nment in the 1930s.

Defence Spending was slashed through the 1990s, at least moved back to an end to absolute cuts and eventually to small real terms increases, New Labour and the Major Administration both cut Defence more radically than Harold Wilson did in the 1960s, and despite promises in the General Election campaign it seems that further cuts are to come, there has been an increasing trend since the Korean War of running down Defence that has gone through both main parties.