Boots on the ground

I fear we are being prepared for war again.

A few weeks ago, David Cameron said there would be no British boots on the ground in the fight against ISIS. Today he said Britain would be at the forefront of the international coalition. If the US led campaign called for ground forces, what would Cameron do then?

Having watched much of the Invictus games shown on the BBC, my first thought is I don’t want to see and read about more killed and maimed armed forces. And I don’t want to see them particularly if we get into something we can’t control, like Iraq where the genie finally got out of the bottle.

We drop bombs on ISIS, we send in armed troops, we occupy foreign lands, and then what? Every time these groups lose a limb, they grow a load more. The portray it as martyrdom against the infidel invaders. We end up making whole countries even more ungovernable, unstable and almost uninhabitable.

I can see it coming though.

Foreign Secretary Hammond today refused to rule anything out, which he did not do last week, Cameron talks a lot without real content or strategy. And why? Because, like everyone else, as I have said before, he does not have a clue what to do. Unfortunately, for Cameron it’s his job and the best plan of action is to not do anything rash or stupid, knee-jerk as they say. But all the meetings of leaders and ministers have very little meaning except in terms of symbolism. They’re being seen to do something.

I expect to wake up one morning with a grim-faced PM, lips pursed, explaining why they had to strike and strike with great urgency. British lives, he might say, were at stake. Then one thing leads to another and it’s troops on the ground.

It’s always the fight against militant islam these days, fighting back against religious terrorists, driving them back. And some of the terrorists, maybe over 1000 of them, are British.

I don’t see any end to it. Even before 9/11, the world was getting a less safe place. After 9/11 and Bush and Blair’s mad rush to war, it got worse still.

Politicians don’t seem to have any answers, but when do they ever? And why should they? Obama the community organiser, Cameron the TV executive (other politicians with no real world skills are available).

Today Iraq and Syria, tomorrow?

Still, at least we’ve got Saudi Arabia on our side.

They behead more than most, they treat their women like dirt, much of the funding from ISIS emanates from the kingdom and they are armed by the teeth (by us). Oh and they have a lot of oil.

Encouraging, isn’t it?