Are we killing our soldiers?

It is a while since I posted on the terrible conditions that our armed services, particularly those serving in Afghanistan, are having to face - not least because of the way they are supplied with inappropriate equipment.

Now, we are told by the head of the army - General Sir Richard Dannatt - that "soldiers ...the strain they and their families were under was 'unacceptable'. We have seriously stretched our soldiers to the very limit. Many families and marriages have unfortunately fallen victim to the relentless pace of operations."

When are Brown and this failed government going to realise that there is just so much that the military will stand?

What A 'Orrible Little Man You Are, Private Ainsworth!

Bob Ainsworth, Labour MP for Coventry North East since 1992 and Minister for the Armed Forces, was on the BBC's "The Daily Politics" programme today being interviewed by Andrew Neil. (About 10 minutes in - watch it because it's a classic.)

Boy, oh boy, did he get a pasting! He really needed his body armour today as he struggled to fend off serious criticism of the Ministry of Defence's failings over the many unnecessary deaths of our troops in Afghanistan. Everybody in the Armed Forces (and at least one HM Coroner) thinks this Government has criminally underfunded the provision of adequate levels of equipment to allow our personnel to defend themselves. Andrew Neil was at the top of his form and refused to let Ainsworth off the hook - well done, Andrew.

If any squaddie currently in Afghanistan today or any of the seriously injured and their families were able to watch Ainsworth's abject performance they must despair at the prospects of this shower of failing politicians who have done so much damage continuing in power for another week, let alone another year. Let's get them kicked out!

Defence Matters - doesn't it?

Des Browne was very unconvincing on the Today programme this morning when he tried to rebut the criticisms of the five ex-Chiefs of the Defence Staff.

The fact is that this Labour government has not devoted sufficient funding to the military given that we are heavily involved in two major conflicts. The Treasury has not made the necessary adjustments between departments to take this fact into account.

Another example of its incompetence? The Department of Health forecasts an underspend on its budget for 2007-8 of £1.8 billion. That's a lot of money that could have been spent on the armed services.

Boom and bust, Mr Brown? Tell us about it......

Defence of the Realm - Labour Style!

General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the Defence Staff, (pictured left on a recent visit to Iraq) delivers a devastating report on the way NuLabour has treated our army personnel over the last 10 years. The Sunday Telegraph report is here.

We should all feel ashamed that we have a government that has allowed this to happen. One of our greatest assets as a country has always been the ability and professionalism of our armed forces to carry out very difficult missions at the behest of politicians.

Having been starved of funding by Brown when he was "the most successful Chancellor for 250 years", they are now being even further weakened by this imposter Prime Minister. He's quite happy to "invest" £25 billion (and rising) of taxpayers' money on propping up Northern Rock to protect the jobs (and votes) of some 6,000 Northern Rock workers and their families in the North East but he can't bring himself to equip our Armed Forces to a level that gives them at least an even chance of beating the enemies that the Government has chosen to fight.

Sir Richard has said this before. Will Brown (or even Des Browne?) listen this time?

UPDATE: According to an article by Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Defence, in the Sunday Telegraph everything is OK. Well, that's alright then.

Wow! That's an another surprise for Gordon Brown

The head of the Army has issued a dire warning that Britain has almost run out of troops to defend the country or fight abroad, according to a secret document obtained by the Daily Telegraph.

No doubt we'll be hearing a lot about the analysis of the by-election results in Sedgefield and Ealing & Southall over the weekend but these events are largely irrelevant when our service men and women's lives are being threatened by the incompetence of Gordon Brown.

Gen Sir Richard Dannatt has told senior commanders that reinforcements for emergencies or for operations in Iraq or Afghanistan are "now almost non-existent". In a memorandum to fellow defence leaders, the Chief of the General Staff confessed that "we now have almost no capability to react to the unexpected". The "undermanned" Army now has all its units committed to either training for war in Iraq and Afghanistan, on leave or on operations.

It is not the first time Gen Dannatt has raised concerns on Britain's fighting ability. A few weeks into his job last year, Sir Richard said the military was "running hot" and urged for a national debate on defence.

I seem to remember that Gordon Brown said recently in Parliament that a key objective of any government is to ensure the security of its people. How well has he provided for these events? I suspect he has not even given it a thought. After all he leaves all that sort of detail to his kinsman Des Browne!