The current debates in Washington and throughout European capitals about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan may seem remote and as having nothing to do with the price of bread in Vauxhall but the fact is that the UK's involvement in these wars has had a huge impact on public expenditure and, of course, loss of lives.
The Sun newspaper, not noted for its opposition to the war, but currently critical of government policy, recently ran a truck along Brighton seafront during the Labour Party conference, with a large billboard on the back with the words "don't they know there is a war on?" This was an apperal to Labour ministers and others to properly equip and support the troops and this was emphasised by a debate with Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, and others organised by the Sun where military families confronted Mr Ainsworth about what was happening in Afghanistan.
But it is clear that these criticisms go nowhere near enough and are merely about strategy, although they are having an impact on support for the war, which is dropping like a stone. Now comes the news that General Dannatt has become a Tory and is about to be made a peer. He has developed a reputation as a government bashed but there are deeper questions to be asked. It appears that he is also something of a Crusader, and I mean that in its original mediaeval sense. Witness what he wrote about Christianity and Islam while still serving as Head of the Army. Dannatt wrote in the Daily Mail, that moutpiece of xenophobia and intolerance:
"When I see the Islamist threat, I hope it doesn't make undue progress because there is a moral and spiritual vacuum in this country. Our society has always been embedded in Christian values; once you have pulled the anchor up there is a danger that our society moves with the prevailing wind … There is an element of the moral compass spinning. I am responsible for the army, to make sure that its moral compass is well aligned and that we live by what we believe in … It is said we live in a post-Christian society. I think that is a great shame. The Judaic-Christian tradition has underpinned British society. It underpins the British army."
This is pure Islamophobia and prejudice. The army and the state should not be aligned with any religion but to attack other and no religions in this way is very reactionary. So it comes as no surprise that Dannatt is a Tory is disguise. It also raises another issue which is the involvement of the military in politics, a development which we should be very wary of. The Tory Party are playing with fire elevating such persons to prominent positions within their hieararchy. But then the army and the Church have been central pillars of the Tory Party since the 18th century. After Osborne's speech on reducing benefits and doing all he can to increase unemployment, there will be no shortage of 'dole queue recruits' to feed into the mincer in Afghanistan and elsewhere. As Jeremy Corbyn MP said last Saturday at the Stop the War Coalition meeting, these will not come from his constituency in Islington but predominantly from areas of high unemployment and deprivation such as South Wales and the northern cities.
Meanwhile the sheer scale of the expenditure for the war continues to boggle the mind. All of this feeds down to local level, to less Council services, less funding for the NHS and education etc. The UK, trying to keep its imperial presence abroad, continues to spend far far more on defence and wars than any other EU country. This is one of the main reasons for the much lower level of public services and infrastructure in this country compared to most of continental Europe. We are basically spending a fortune on wars and foreign adventures. Will this be factored into the Tory cuts? I very much doubt it. But the public services will be starved so that more Dannatts can strut about in gold braid and business will boom for the arms merchants.
For all of these reasons I will be leafleting Underground stations in Lambeth over the next two weeks leading up to the national march on Saturday 24th October in London calling for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. First stop will be Stockwell station tonight.
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