Wasting resources on war and assassinations achieves nothing
Do local residents in rural Powys and Shropshire have any knowledge of how many wars we are engaged in at the moment or does it not concern us?
Do we wonder why so much money is being used to kill other people in other lands while our social services are being cut?
Air Marshall Greg Bagwell explained the asymmetric nature of air attacks by British Reaper drones, stating that while more than 3,000 ISIS fighters have been killed in UK air strikes since 2014 there has not been a single UK military personnel killed in enemy action.
He said: “When you have an asymmetric advantage, enemies seek to find a way around it, and that is what terrorism is.”
He was sceptical of the MoD assertion that no civilians have been killed in UK air attacks in Syria and Iraq.
Although the MoD has done its utmost to prevent civilian casualties he was clear that “it’s just wrong to let people think that no-one has been killed ...
“There is a danger at the moment that we are conditioning ourselves to think in a certain way. That wars are bloodless and that we can carry out war in a ‘nice way’. Thinking war is bloodless is a mistake because we need to be aware that war is nasty and opting for it, must be the last resort.
“Thinking it can be done cleanly etc. is a mistake.”
In response to Freedom of Information Requests it has been discovered that UK air attacks against ISIS from drones and planes have cost £1.75 billion, although the full UK military costs will be much higher.
Do we really want to go on wasting scarce resources on war and targeted assassinations when we know it increases the likelihood of terrorism and does nothing to solve the underlying causes of the wars?
Do we really want to be involved in killing our fellow brothers and sisters and encouraging terrorism?
I do not.
Angie Zelter, Knighton
