Gordon Brown and the “Blairism” War of Ideology

Prime Minster Gordon Brown in what must be one of his key pre-election challenge made a speech in London at the Royal College of Defence Studies this morning, he said we "cannot, must not and will not walk away" from the mission in Afghanistan.

"We will succeed or fail together and we will succeed," Mr Brown said

He also said that whilst military action creates a "suppressive effect on al-Qaeda", "we cannot, must not and will not walk away".

Mr Brown added: "We will not be deterred, dissuaded or diverted from taking whatever measures are necessary to protect our security... “

"We will not give up this strategy of mentoring [Afghan local forces], because it is what distinguishes a liberating army from an army of occupation."

Mr Brown tried to justify during the speech that the Afghan army should be increased from its current size of 80,000 troops to more than 130,000 by the end of 2010.

Fighting words indeed from Mr Brown. With a sense that he is trying to actually suggest that Afghanistan is the only source of Terror that the World faces today and that this country together with the border regions of Pakistan is solely responsible for all terror outbreaks is perhaps stretching a point too far.

He went on to say, "It is the opposition's job to ask tough questions when British soldiers are being killed at this appalling rate. It is right to question the strategy. It is failing at an accelerating rate."

However, just like Mr Blair before him appears to be using the continuing military operation partly as a vehicle to embolden his ability to be seen to govern this country. This sadly comes from a “in all sense of the phrase” very bankrupt Government on the verge of collapse and imploding without having the collective “common sense” to know what the “key” UK priorities are.

Mr Brown as did Mr Blair before him talk of defeating al-Qaeda without really knowing what al-Qaeda is or represents. This probably is one of the greatest “collective misunderstandings” of the 21st century. I suspect based on a belief that this is like other wars of the past. The so-called “War on Terror” as voiced by George W. Bush will no doubt when looked back upon in the cold and unforgiving light of history, will shock and appal future generations of commentators and educators.

Most wars of the past have been waged against a sovereign or failed state, an “enemy” that was contained within a region. Mr Brown and no doubt the US thinking would now have us believe that Afghanistan and al-Qaeda is being treated in that way.

This may be true if the perceived “enemy” actually existed within the borders of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, certainly this region is a stronghold for terror training camps, this is not at question here, but it is the assertion that Mr Blair and now Mr Brown keeps making that this alone represents the “ultimate” threat to World peace and our National Security and that it must be fought at all costs until the so called enemy al-Qaeda is defeated.

It is a widely held view amongst most defence and security experts that al-Qaeda is a mishmash of an ideology that exits and self propagates, through word of mouth and mostly now because of the Internet and freely resides in the minds of people all round the globe that wish to embrace this ideology to wage Terror.

This is precisely “why” the group of 19 mostly Saudi US based suicide hijackers decided to fly planes into the World Trade Centre on 9/11 and 4 British suicide bombers decided to bomb London’s transport system on 7/7.

This was based on “raw” ideology; you may read above that I do not make any reference to race or religion. Many commentators have incorrectly linked certain religions as propagating “evil” this is a mistake and creates a stigmatisation to certain religious groups, which can and does breed and help recruit more people to embrace this mishmash ideology known as al-Qaeda.

No doubt we will learn of the tragedy on 5/11/09 at Fort Hood in Texas, US that the renegade Major psychiatrist was acting alone (hence not a conspiracy) and was not influenced by al-Qaeda. However, if this incident had taken place in Afghanistan as a similar incident had indeed a week ago involving an Afghan renegade policeman killing 5 British soldiers it would be directly linked to al-Qaeda infiltration. It is all about perception and no doubt fuelled by the media.

Actually, the al-Qaeda was born in Afghanistan out of the Russian occupation 1979 during the height of the Cold War. The United States responded by aiding, supporting and training the Mujahideen.

It is well known and documented that the CIA indirectly supported the Taliban (and in part helped in the formation of al-Qaeda), providing military support to the Taliban, in the early 1980s, the CIA together with ISI (Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency) provided arms to Afghans fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

It is estimated that between 600,000 and 2 million Afghans citizens were killed during the Russian lead occupation and more than 5 million Afghans citizens fled to Pakistan.

One could argue therefore, that “the current problems” and indeed al-Qaeda and its ideology was in part created by the intervention of the Super Powers.

Therefore, if the perceived enemy is actually an ideology, which is virtually now always referred to in the west as al-Qaeda, then it is hardly surprising that just like the ancient Hydra from Greek mythology with nine heads that grow back two heads if one head is cut off, it is an un-winnable war. Fighting a mythical Hydra would actually be easier as it can be seen for what it is.

So when Mr Brown said today in discussing the continuing military action in Afghanistan that if it has a "suppressive effect on al-Qaeda", perhaps he is actually being honest up to a point. Since he’s statement “suppressive effect” acknowledges and implies just that as in a palliative treatment to serious medical conditions. Help but not a cure.

However, we must accept that our British forces are for the right or wrong reason deployed to Afghanistan and give the brave soldiers that put their lives on the line every second of every day whilst on duty all the support that we can. They are the innocent pawns in this cat and mouse game of War politics and we must remember their bravery this Remembrance Sunday. It must be hard to fight a war on any terms but especially so when the enemy is one of Ideology that exists mostly in the mind.

I believe that we must look to a swift end of all military operations and allow Afghanistan to control its own destiny through its own governance, in other words it is time to withdraw tactically and gracefully.

The United Kingdom is in the deepest recession in history and its economy is dire, we are the only remaining G8 to be in negative GDP, it is now time to concentrate on National issues that affect the lives of each one of us here back home whether Coventry, Manchester or London. Great Britain can no longer afford to be the Police Force of the world especially for a phoney War based more on Blairism and arrogance than substance.

Author: Nigel Rumble
Photo copyrite: MOD

Climate Change and what I am doing to help

Scientist across the planet have many theories to explain “Climate Change”, ranging from the believable to the fringe and ridiculous, however there is generally agreement amongst nearly all experts that world wide energy consumption must be drastically reduced, that CO2 emissions must be reduced back down to 1980 levels.

All of us have a CO2 footprint; I give my Belsize home as an example. I have the usual "utility" machines, "multi-media" systems, computer systems and gadgets found in most homes.

I have now signed up to the 2012 Carbon Challenge as part of the 2020 schemes being offered by utility companies.
As part of this Carbon Challenge I have committed to reduce my energy consumption by 20% annually. I estimate that I have already reduced this even further over the past years with the following advice that I make available to you here.

Many years ago aware of the dire problems that we will face with unchecked “Global Warming” I made a conscious effort to reduce my total home energy consumption, by "smart" shopping, that is buying electrical "utility units" for example washing machines that conform to the highest standards of efficiency and have the lowest energy and water consumption available. Insuring that any "multi-media" equipment has a "smart" standby which means that no units consumes more than 3 to 5 watts in standby, most units burn 10 to 15 watts.

Changing ALL the lighting bulbs to be energy efficient, for example the front room ceiling lighting pendants have 5 candle bulbs, which used to consume 5x60 watts = 300W (to put this another way that is nearly 1/3 of KW).
I have now changed these to a special candle bulb replacement using only 11W so in total it uses 55W and offers nearly same light levels and saving 245W.

Every room has a high efficiency low energy bulbs the largest that I would use would be 23W and that would service an entire room! I avoid use of multiple lamps that although looking great consume vast amount of energy.
The last idea is the “smartest” and cost NOTHING to implement, I was considering to patient the idea but instead share it with you all! When you leave any room for an extended period, switch the multi-media systems to standby and turn off the lights. You will be amazed how much energy you will reduce by doing this. Fact. My young Daughter DOES this NOW and she reminds me if I should forget!
We need to teach all the future generations that this is the way forward to reduce waste wherever possible.

Through these efficiencies savings I estimate that I have reduced around 20 to 30% of the total energy home electrical consumption.

Now I except that to do all the steps that I have outlined will cost money in the short run, smart machines are not cheap, but are cheaper to run long term.

Just as this approach is helping to reduce the CO2 footprint of my Belsize home by around 20 - 30% it is also saving me money over the annual electricity costs. I estimate that the "smart" utility machines have paid back in only 2 to 3 years of use and are in profit now that is profit in my pocket and profit to the Planet.

The NASA Scientist Dr James Hansen was reported in The Associated Press Jun. 24, 2008 in this article;

“WASHINGTON — Exactly 20 years after warning America about global warming, a top NASA scientist said the situation has gotten so bad that the world's only hope is drastic action.
James Hansen told Congress on Monday that the world has long passed the "dangerous level" for greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and needs to get back to 1988 levels. He said Earth's atmosphere can only stay this loaded with man-made carbon dioxide for a couple more decades without changes such as mass extinction, ecosystem collapse and dramatic sea level rises.
"We're toast if we don't get on a very different path," Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute of Space Sciences who is sometimes called the godfather of global warming science, told The Associated Press. "This is the last chance."
Hansen brought global warming home to the public in June 1988 during a Washington heat wave, telling a Senate hearing that global warming was already here. To mark the anniversary, he testified before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming where he was called a prophet, and addressed a luncheon at the National Press Club where he was called a hero by former Sen. Tim Wirth, D-Colo., who headed the 1988 hearing.
To cut emissions, Hansen said coal-fired power plants that don't capture carbon dioxide emissions shouldn't be used in the United States after 2025, and should be eliminated in the rest of the world by 2030. That carbon capture technology is still being developed and not yet cost efficient for power plants.
Burning fossil fuels like coal is the chief cause of man-made greenhouse gases. Hansen said the Earth's atmosphere has got to get back to a level of 350 parts of carbon dioxide per million. Last month, it was 10 percent higher: 386.7 parts per million.”

Remember that this article I have selected is already out of date last month was 18 months ago and CO2 has already exceeded the 386.7 parts per million.

As a closing comment from me in my leafy Belsize location, I say this, we ALL can make a difference, whilst the scientist talk and may at times disagree with various intellectual arguments and nuance, the fact remains that with the continuing population explosion and “super rapid” economic growth of China and the world demand for more and more production that energy consumption is set to increase and the cost of energy also will continue to increase.

Perhaps in the final analysis it will come down to the simple fact of can we afford NOT to reduce now.

So remember to Switch off that light!

Author: Nigel Rumble