Manifest Destiny

What delusions are you referring to when it comes to victory over Nazi Germany in WW2? There is no delusion: the Allies won simply because of sheer industrial production of mass produced weapons that were just good enough and the economies of three major combatants that mobilised quickly to a war footing where Nazi Germany did not. Whatever else of dubious value was going on behind the scenes in terms of what became the post war situation the defeat of Nazism was a positive outcome, if even the only one. In terms of the war in Ukraine, of the 'Special Military Operation' you increasingly seem to want to term it, is still winnable, according to several people with experience in these things, including Lt Gen Ben Hodges who has consistently argued that Ukraine is still capable of winning should it receive the support and supplies it needs and the setting of the strategic outcome of victory rather than the fuzzy and incoherent 'for as long as it takes' whatever 'it' might be. Despite appearances of sustained support, the help that Ukraine has received so far has been grudging and slow in arriving. Despite the huge sums pledged, only a fraction of that support has arrived in Ukraine, and usually too late to have any real positive effect. Had support for Ukraine been total and unstinting right from the word go when it became clear that the country was going to make a stand this war would by now be well in the past, and though it wouldn't have been over in three days, it would more than likely seen a Ukrainian victory by the end of 2022 with Russia forced to retreat and Putin dethroned. However, even here you do have a point about wishful thinking, but that's more to do with the West's wishful thinking that Putin will be satisfied by the sacrifice of Ukraine, for that is what you are basically arguing. Any kind of peace that does not see Ukrainian sovereignty restored to 1991 boundaries will not result in peace for long. We should believe Putin when he says he wants to rebuild the Soviet Union. He's a clear and present danger, but sadly one which only those countries formerly part of the Soviet empire take really seriously. plus Finland and Sweden, and to a slightly lesser extent, Norway and Denmark. Britain's problems are nothing to do with the half-hearted support thus far shown to Ukraine, and more to do with the neo-liberalism of he past half century and the utterly craven approach of this current Labour government who fool no one and who are with every mis-step inadvertantly promoting the rise of Reform, no doubt ably aided and abetted by Putin's troll social media troll factories. Labour could still save the day, but that would require the implementation of some serious policies reclaimed from the Corbyn days involving the tapping of a thus far untapped source of finance: substantial taxes on the rich and the global corporations. Indeed, it's increasingly becoming clear to even the most myopic citizens that the only way that Starmer & Co can achieve their principal aims is through taxing those very promising sources of finances - there's simply nothing left to steal from the poorest. Ultimately the UK will have to return to the EU fold in one form or abother, as even the best deal with the USA would only result in a very small increase in trade but also cancel out any hope of returning in any serious sense to trade with the EU as the price of any deal with the USA will involve reduced standards for products that the EU would avoid as much as it did British beef in the days of rampant BSE.

Maybe we should join hands across Cymru to get an actual say? With just 32 Welsh MPs lost in the crowd of 543 English MPs, it’s clear it doesn’t matter what we think or what argument you so eloquently write! Urinating towards the direction of the wind comes to mind. Not just Ukraine but the genocide in Palestine comes to mind! The Senedd has condemned the genocide but at the end of the day, we do what England wants . Sometimes, we are fortunate & that actually coincides with what we want! Do those rare occasions make up for the standard failure to steer our destiny? If England were to follow Trumps suit and turn into a fascist nation, as it nearly has on a number of occasions, what can we do about that? Zero! Dim byd! Makes you think, doesn’t it?

You really wouldn’t know from Ben’s article that Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine, would you? But it is, and Russia’s aspirations will not be satisfied if its imperialistic Ukrainian venture pays off. The long-term safety of the UK will most certainly not be assured in that case. Where will Russia look next? Moldova, very probably. The Baltic states, perhaps. Poland? Finland? Well Russian aggression is already visible there. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/05/russian-disruption-europe-points-patterns-future-aggression Indeed Russian aggression has already been visible in the UK for many years, as far back as the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London. Ben may prefer to overlook Russia’s long-term hostility to the democratic and humanitarian values of the West but the rest of us would be very unwise to do so.

Wargaming rising in popularity from the virtual to the real...! A bit of a loss leader, these new missiles... Bye bye H.M.S Albion and H.M.S. Bulwark...