The Blair Paradox

In response to the latest casualties (one soldier in Afghanistan and two in Iraq) , Tony Blair has again reiterated the importance of 'standing firm. He went on to say 'It's very tough for our Armed Forces at the moment, particularly in Afghanistan, but it is very important'

If indeed it is so important then why are the armed forces not getting the priority resourcing they require? One can understand them being ignored and under funded at times when the government does not deem their task to be vital but, here we have a prime minister who continually reiterates the importance and yet does not give them what they need. This is extremely baffling. What has gone wrong? Have the generals given bad advice; have they not asked for more? Or has it been refused under the premise that the end to the strain is only just round the corner.

It is interesting that in today's Telegraph newspaper Lord Guthrie, the former chief of the defence staff has said "We are in two very serious insurgencies and although it is not general war we need to face facts that things are very serious. . . we are just muddling through. It is reprehensible that our politicians are hiding behind the generals."

What is clear is that there needs to be serious long term planning aimed at enabling Britain's armed forces to effectively meet the demands of a conflict with indeterminable length, that shows no signs of abating. Increasing manpower must be at the heart of the review and since it will be some while before the results of any increase would filter through, the process must be commenced immediately.

In the meantime the urgent needs of our troops already deployed must be addressed with every means at our disposal. Equipment issues such as providing more vehicles with better protection must be solved with maximum speed or needless casualties will continue to be taken.