Simon Jenkins: My once-in-a-generation cut? The armed forces. All of them

[non sociopath skin]

What do we really get from the army, the navy and the air force beyond soldiers dying in distant wars and a tingle when the band marches by? Is the tingle worth £45bn, more than the total spent on schools? Why does Osborne "ringfence" defence when everyone knows its budget is a bankruptcy waiting to happen, when Labour ministers bought the wrong kit for wars that they insisted it fight?

Osborne cannot believe the armed forces are so vital or so efficient as to be excused the star chamber's "fundamental re-evaluation of their role". He knows their management and procurement have long been an insult to the taxpayer. The reason for his timidity must be that, like David Cameron, he is a young man scared of old generals.

I was content to be expensively defended against the threat of global communism. With the end of the cold war in the 1990s that threat vanished. In its place was a fantasy proposition, that some unspecified but potent "enemy" lurked in the seas and skies around Britain. Where is it?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/08/cuts-armed-services-fantasy-enemies

Yes, I know Jenkins is a Right Little Tinker and Only Does It To Annoy, but I thoroughly enjoyed this.

In a sane world, it might even have had some traction ...

The Skin

[ikri]

1. But we need 2 supercarriers

After all, we face the threat of invasion from the Soviet Union and, erm, maybe France. Plus, the Afghan Navy shouldn't be misunderestimated.

The irony is that we could save a fortune on the military, not by cutting it entirely, but by taking the lead on an EU-wide force. Ask for between €5-15 billion per nation (based on size, etc.) and the EU would have a massive, well-funded military. But the press in this country is so anti-EU that any sort of EU proposal like that would be vetoed before it went past the first draft.

[EmilyKent]

2. Now there's a good idea.

I'd certainly support that.

[oldironside]

3. Maybe we should run a sweepstake...

... as to exactly how much money they waste on those carriers before they are cancelled.

[TheBigotBasher]

4. Or like the helicopters

unable to be used because we do not like the software and have no one to write an alternative.

[oldironside]

5. The article has certainly touched a nerve...

... at the Guardian. 887 comments as I write this. It seems to me we all agree that these super expensive boys' toys are a waste of money, but could anyone realistically think of doing without the armed forces entirely? I can see a case for a pan-European force and a reduction in British defence spending to average European levels, but abolishing the armed forces altogether is just attention seeking on Jenkins' part.

[non sociopath skin]

6. A little more than attention-seeking, I think.

Jenkins is solidly in the tradition of the Socratic gadfly and is legitimately jousting with the idea that - as always - the Boys' Toys are sacrosanct. As witness again Bullingdon Dave's grandstanding a la Blair with "Our Boys" as they die in droves fighting wars which the majority of the country know are aimless and unwinnable.

I particularly like the bit about parades - am I the only one to feel cynical about the military parades, now staged by the establishment with monotonous regularity, so that potential opposition to our neo-colonial adventures can be drowned in admiration for Our Brave Forces.

Of course, Jenkins is pissing into the wind. Which is why The Millionaires Club's promises of us all sharing the pain have about as much substance as did Blair's promise of an ethical government.

The Skin

[dipsydoodle]

7. Without the armed forces

who would drive the Green Godesses when the firemen strike ?

[Anarcho-Socialist]

8. Without the armed forces

I doubt public sector pay cuts/freezes would be on the agenda.

[dipsydoodle]

9. That was actually a

Baldrick question..............Captain Black Adder