Much of the media, particularly the BBC, colludes in the fiction that what this country does during these crises is decisive. Britain is mentioned in the same breath as the U.S. Maps are produced signifying British fire-power on which there are almost as many Union Flags as Stars & Stripes.
Our leading politicians adore it all. Tony Blair was in seventh heaven when able to present himself almost as an equal of President George W. Bush before the Iraq War. His ecstatic reception in Congress a few months after the invasion was the apotheosis of his dreams.
David Cameron, though more measured, also relishes the role of international statesman. We are informed every time he has a phone conversation with President Obama. His spin doctors have revealed that over the weekend one call lasted an entire 40 minutes!
Meanwhile, we have created the grandiosely named National Security Council, after the American version. The difference is that while the U.S. President commands a huge, world-wide navy and other formidable military assets, we have a dwindling Royal Navy, RAF and Army.
And dwindling even faster because of this Government’s defence cuts, which have left us without a proper aircraft carrier, the most basic entry-level possession for any aspiring world power. Yet Mr Cameron continues where Tony Blair, a much wilder fantasist, left off. Read on and comment » | Stephen Glover | Published: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 | Updated: Thursday, August 28, 2013
