War remains big business on a global scale
Still the UK government and the official opposition talk the talk but do not walk the walk
Thinking of something to write about led me through considering the misery for the people of Gaza, the continued assault on Ukraine and here at home the continuing pressures on our domestic budgets both in our own homes and for the Scottish government – I was trying to stay positive but the dank, dreich weather just seemed to fit my mood.
I have written before of my heartfelt sympathy for the families and the captives held by Hamas not even knowing how many are alive and in what state. However, nothing, absolutely nothing, makes the assault on civilians in Gaza defensible.
Over 30,000 dead, many women and children, hospitals with no power, no food, no water then bombed. Starvation is rife and used as a weapon of war. Still the UK government and the official opposition talk the talk but do not walk the walk.
Now with the death of aid workers, including three British citizens, who had advised the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) of their routes in advance, all that Rishi Sunak will say is that he wants a “thorough and transparent investigation” from Israel. Labour leader Keir Starmer called for a “full investigation” and an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza. Words but not actions.
Did you know that the UK supplies the Israeli military with hundreds of millions of pounds worth of arms? Undoubtedly some of these have destroyed innocent lives in Gaza and rendered homes and communities into rubble. Under open export licences, arms companies can export an unlimited quantity of specified equipment with no further monitoring and no tracking of their total value. There have been calls to suspend these licences to Israel by some in the UK, but this has yet to happen if it ever will. Indeed the UK is one of the top exporters of arms worldwide and these arms exports doubled during 2022 to a record £8.5 billion.
War is indiscriminate, cruel and mostly the innocent suffer but it is also profitable. It is big business on a global scale. Are the UK government’s hands clean of this bloodshed? There are certainly forces darker than the gloomy skies above me today.