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Originally Posted by Penelope_Grey
Not allowed ourselves to become weak. I don't see our participation in multiple wars under the Prime Ministership of Tony Blair a show of strength. I see it as a sign of inadeuquacy and poor judgement. He is making us try to punch above our weight so to speak. For us to maintain a large military is not really feasable anymore.
The key thing though I think, is like my brother always says; is to never underestimate your opponent, its not what you have its how you use it too, America underestimated the Vietnamese and their capabilities and got an arse kicking as a result of their war in Vietnam. The same thing has happened to us, Iran was clearly underestimated and as a result those 15 sailors are now hostages. When will they be released? Will they be released? All these questons, and nobody seems to be answering them.
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In terms of war, the fundamental problem lies not in the underestimation of the enemy, nor in allowing oneself to become weak. Instead, the problem that both the UK and the US face is one that has been facing modern warfare since its inception. The question, of course, is at what point is victory achieved? The answer? There are only two ways to win a war. The first is to make your enemy surrender in its entirety so that they will acquiesce. The second way is far messier and completely unacceptable in today's society: Genocide. The problem with the current conflict around the world is that the enemy is unwilling to surrender (evidenced by their continued resistance), and we are unwilling to commit genocide (not that I'm advocating we should pursue this course of action, either). Thus, we are stuck in this bloody stand-off that will last until one side gives in.
As for the current Iranian/British sailors situation, this is pure and simple exploitation of the British position, as Iran knows that the British can no longer project a significant amount of force with the force cuts, and that the US is too busy dealing with Iraq to really get involved in invading Iran. Sure, we on this end of the pond can posture and b***h and demand all we want, but in the end, we will not invade so long as Iraq remains a problem.