Lest we forget...Poignant reminders
Posted: Monday, 24 September 2007 |
Some things make me sad, others make me mad...
WW2 barbed wire nr Tobruk
91热爆 headlines read; The head of the British Army says he is becoming increasingly concerned about "the growing gulf between the Army and the nation".
Gen Sir Richard Dannatt said soldiers were sometimes greeted with indifference on returning from service. A "willingness to serve in such an atmosphere again" could be sapped, he said in a speech in London. (Remember it was public opinion that stopped Vietnam)
"When a young soldier has been fighting in Basra or Helmand, he wants to know that the people in their local pub know and understand what he has been doing and why."
A lonely place to lie, Bir Hakiem. (Bir Hakiem is the epitomy of heroism)
In the week in which General Patraeus reports back to US Congress on the impact the recent 鈥榮urge鈥 is having in Iraq, a new poll reveals that more than 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have been killed since the invasion took place in 2003.
Previous estimates, noticeably the one published in the Lancet in October 2006, suggested almost half this number (654,965 deaths).
These findings come from a poll released recently by ORB, the British polling agency that has been tracking public opinion in Iraq since 2005.
Knightsbridge Cemetery nr Tobruk
The reason there is such indifference and ever increasing anti-war sentiment, well you don鈥檛 have to be a rocket scientist the figures speak for themselves
A You Gov poll published last weekend found, 53 per cent of British voters believe that UK troops are failing in Iraq. Three quarters want them brought home immediately or within the next year
Our British armed forces are not separate from our elected politicians, elected鈥 yep we put them there, roll on democracy. So when does this lunacy finish? Hey what ever happened to Tony?
Mine and munitions removal on the Iranian side of the Iran Iraq border (1999) me smiling ?
Not smiling ? the penny drops...
An age ago a large group of people in opposition against the Iraq war stood on a windy day in Crossapol united in their disgust at the Iraq conflict.
You can find many of these very same people yearly at the war memorial near the pier in Scarinish at the 11th hour of the 11 day of the 11th month remembering the sacrifice made by so many soldiers from Tiree in other wars.
Lest we forget? Surely some already have.
Personally I deeply respect all the people who serve to protect the British Isles.However, I see it as an act of gross disrespect to place these men and wome into an arena of warfare for "All" the wrong reasons.
Comments
one question----- what is a "good war" and "a bad war"?????
carol from agreeing with you
today i look at kiity(name--marmaduke) i think of song"marmaduke oh marmaduke have you seen my brother luke--they sent him off to fight a war---- etc etc!!
carol from maybe a bad day
I agree. You can respect and admire the forces personnel while still profoundly disagreeing with the grinning egotistical eejits who sent them there...and speaking of Tony, we must all be thankful he is now turning his massive intellect to helping bring about peace. In the Middle East...
Flying Cat from cynicism samba
鈥淢an has no right to kill his brother. It is no excuse that he does so in uniform: he only adds the infamy of servitude to the crime of murder鈥. (Shelly I think ?) There is no good war ... just war
Off shore view from Libya at work
I agree with all of your sentiments. I have stood in the rain at a war memorial in England on November 11th and also in a tropical dawn with Australian and NZ friends on ANZAC day. I have heard my father relate how in his later years his memories kept him awake in the small hours of the morning. I have met numerous Vietnam Vets and every one was damaged in some way. I have stood in silence on the steps of St. Magnus in protest at the lunacy that is currently being visited on Iraq. I witnessed the protest in London and let no one ever tell you there were fewer than a million there. None of this takes away my admiration for heroism but I am aware that it may be displayed other than in conflict and without violence. I am and will be eternally grateful that never have I been asked to show what I am made of. "Lest we foget." can,and should, have a deeper meaning.
Hyper-Borean from The Old Lie
Very well done blog! Que bien hecho!
Bill Chilcote from australia
One thing I can never understand is why don't we help those in conflict in Africa, where millions of families are slaughtered, All the tribal fighting and innocent people caught in the crossfire. I will never understand. Why doesn't anyone intervene in Africa, yet they have horrendous dictators.??Middle East, Iraq, Is it protection of the oil I wonder??
Squidgy the Otter from Coll
Having worked in every oil producing arabic country, oil is one(if not the!) of the few things the west wants. As for Sub-Saharan Africa...well lets just say africa is on hold, one big reserve ready to be exploited at a later date when it suits. Its amazing what wealth can be tied up in a country suffering embargo's (Libya as a point of fact)...Oh did I mention the chineas in Sudan or the Dutch in Nigeria, or the french in The Congo and Algeria...Oil buys power, and who out of all the western governments wants alternative energy when the sun, wind and wave cannot be bartered for...maybe the world can fight over the carbon dollar at a later date...off to stick my head in the sand & wait for the plane home to Tiree..
Offshore View from Libya at the end of his tether
never mind,offshore view,you'll soon be home again
carol from over here
after seeing bbc breaking news how sad it now tragic,here in france or belgiam or the uk we always moan at our goverments----but at least have some say in electing them, maybe some of us should go and live for some time(me being the first) in one of these countries and maybe we'de a lot happier off our lot!
carol from more food for thought
"muterings about life and distant shores...an off shore view"
A World wandering from my Tiree home
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