"Cuts will put lives at risk", warn forces chiefs. Which, I suppose, makes a change from "Cuts 'cost lives of soldiers'" says former chief of the defence staff. The one, of course, is today – life under the Cleggerons. The other link is from The Times on 4 March 2010, when the target was Gordon Brown. It hasn't even taken a year.

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Perhaps the watershed events currently occurring in the southern Mediterranean will spur the dysfunctional 'Brokeback' Coalition to abandon its earlier completely false late 2010 Strategic Defence Review, which was in fact nothing more than a defence cuts exercise, & replace it with a genuinely carefully thought out review which may well need to take up to a year to be genuinely all-inclusive. In the meantime, all warships, aircraft, & personnel marked down for the chop should be retained in reserve until the review has considered them or their catagories of weapon systems specifically - & whether they are in fact still required after all.

As far as warships are concerned, I always suspected that Gordon Brown's 25 surface combattants/escorts was completely inadequate, let alone Cameron & Osborne's ridiculously few 19. And the need for aviation ships & an effective fixed air component, backed by adequate replenishment & escort vessels, has never looked more necessary than during the current Libyan crisis. And who knows what may follow in Lebanon, Israel, Bahrein, Iran etc shortly?

Not only has the current Libyan crisis shown Hague & Clegg to be particularly inept, but Cameron as dangerously delusional as well - and Hunt too as completely unable to protect a military secret (about UK special forces etc). With those 4 clearly unfit to play a role in a situation where a calm head is needed in a crisis, & a clear understanding of how difficult rescues can be, how come no one else moved in to restore some sanity in a situation where inaction seemed to be the governments' only response? Where was Osborne, Gove, May (though she has done OK so far by so far putting her foot down over refugees), & Duncan-Smith etc? I'm not even mentioning Cable or Huhne: they would only have screwered it up even more - with probably tragic results!

Watchet

It says something that the Armed Forces would have been better off under the last lot.This can only mean one thing and that is we are heading into the EU set-up quicker that first thought of. This is a National Disgrace,I do not know how we can come out of it,short of an instant rebellion and shooting them.It's no good writing to MP's as they are only yes men.In days gone by,the senior military would have revolted by now,but,they have also taken the EU danegeld. Old puddin-face should be thoroughly ashamed of himself.
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!!