Monday 25 August 2014

ISIS and the influence of Focus groups on Policy

I can't quite get a grip on Cameron's Middle East policy - if -that is - he has one. A year ago he was mustard keen to bomb shit out of President Assad but now he hangs back and wrings his hands over genocidal activities of  ISIS and does nothing except go surfing at Polzeath.

Of course he may just be feeling a mite embarrassed about his track record as a 'war leader ' to date.  The bombing of Libya did indeed succeed in getting rid of Gadaffii but the result is a completely lawless 'failed state.'  Whilst if he had got his way and bombed President Assad into defeat the likely result would have been a total take over of Syria by the very fanatics who are now causing mayhem in Northern Iraq with massacres of minorities on a truly biblical scale.

Listening to our Foreign Secretary - the accountant Hammond - on the radio -I was truck by a phrase he used when asked about the possibility of British Military involvement. He categorically stated that this would not involve 'boots on the ground' because;  'he was not sure the British public would stand or it '

The scales fell from my eyes - now I know where our strategy is made - not in the Foreign Office - nor the MOD -or even in Downing Street - but in focus groups!  Strange how politicians hide behind 'the British people' supposed wishes when it suits them but but ignore them when it doesn't. So- to give two examples - immigration controls continue to be joke and the activities of lawyers feathering their nest from the Human Rights Act continues to be a scandal  but politicians do nothing about either.

Looking back to the 1930's most historians are of the opinion that if the Britain and France had reacted with force to the occupation of the Rhineland by German troops Hitler may well have fallen.  Movements such as ISIS need to be squashed early and not allowed to prosper. Sadly the only way to achieve this result is for 'boots on the ground' as - frankly - the Iraq army has shown itself to be a toy town joke and the Syrians are fully engaged already.

It is ironic that minority religious and racial groups who have lived and prospered for two thousand years or more are now threatened with total extermination.  So I suppose we must wait for some truly horrendous massacres to take place in the new 'Caliphate' before 'the focus groups' change their minds and give our politicians the go ahead to launch a proper military campaign. Beats me why we bother paying salaries to our supposed leaders - who do no leading but instead -react.

No comments:

Post a Comment