New European army
Readers who (hopefully!) follow my ‘epistles’ will appreciate that the Editor very kindly publishes my observations that are not always directly related to life in Wokingham.
I take the view that national affairs do affect us, as well as local incompetence such as lack of intelligent management of traffic during the unwanted ‘rebuilding’ of Wokingham!
While actually on local matters, I notice many cyclists are still using motorists’ space, because cycle lanes are unswept, full of slippery leaves and other detritus. My sympathy is with them for a change!
The current national political disasters – what else can they be called – include the Brexit non-existent agreements. I fail to comprehend the continued existence of people against Brexit! There have to be reasons, and I suspect money/rewards, e.g. politicians’ benefits, that prevent intelligent analysis of the EU indicating, sans doute, that as represented by Brussels, it is not for US.
I love Europe and (most) of its peoples, its history, architecture, art, and especially its music. I do hope readers watched the exquisite Lucy Worsley’s ‘Nights at the Opera’ recently. It makes me feel a need to get close to Germany, have an independent trade agreement with them
– we have a long established relationship with that ‘arrogant and very clever nation’!
Another disaster concerns the subject of the mentality of what are frequently called ‘our leaders’ – consider the latest news about our Army perhaps accepting applicants who participate in drugs. My own service experience tells me that we should perhaps concentrate on a small, and for National defence purposes only, highly trained and armed Army in parallel with our SAS, Marines and the like.
As a nation, we’d better get use to the fact that we are no longer a major military power. I would never advocate neutrality, and as with having our excellent subbased nuclear deterrent, we need only to be capable of dealing with any threat to this country.
The new European Army can fulfil the role we used to – even as a NATO member.
Sadly people like Cameron – I think I can blame him – ruined even our defence capability! Do you remember his suggestion that France would help out with Aircraft Carriers if we needed to defend The Falklands again?
Did he think the French would allow French supplied missiles to be launched at them by the Argentinians?
Then he got rid of all of our Harriers. Now we have new Carriers that can, if I understand current missile capabilities, be easily sunk, but for which we have (are they actually in service?) very expensive US aircraft.
As an Engineer, I do not like their design, and feel that we could have done better by a serious upgrade to the oh-so-simple, but superb Harrier. I often say ‘we have some of the world’s best engineers’, but how often do we have politicians who ‘know-not how to use their tools’.
Reg Clifton, Wokingham