Letter: A political consensus on heroes and villains
Why is there such a conservative reactionary feel to discussions in Shropshire?
I'm sorry to say there seems to be a political consensus that undermines honest debate, with the Church, the Queen and our heroes in the Armed Forces representing good and asylum seekers, EEC and wind turbines representing bad.
An example of what I mean can be seen in the uncritical sycophantic attitude to the Armed Forces and their role in protecting and expanding our interests abroad. We call them heroes and the opposition defending nations, insurgents or terrorists or even cowards.
People need to remember that our heroes were fighting to secure oil supplies in Iraq and to heap revenge on al-Qaida after 9/11 not to uphold higher moral values.
After all, we supported and armed both Saddam Hussain and al-Qaida when it was in the UK's interest.
For this, up to one million Afghanis and Iraqis have died.
In pursuit of national interests, the British Tommy is made of no finer material than any other armed forces. A British soldier was dismissed from the Army last year and sentenced to 18 months in jail for stabbing a 10-year-old Afghan boy who had asked him for a bar of chocolate.
Help for heroes? Who is asking about their victims?
Councillor Pat McCarthy, People First Party, Wellington
