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Is anyone else a little disturbed by what Gordon Brown has said in Afghanistan.
Lets get one thing straight from the start. There is no greater supporter of our troops than me. They deserve all the praise they get and more, they also need and deserve better pay, better equipment and more boots on the ground. They are superb professionals, the best in the world at what they do and we should all be proud of them.
So what did Brown say that disturbs me?
This is part of what he said in Camp Bastion:
He told them:.....their achievements match that of Britain's Olympic heroes every day of the year.
"we are celebrating the Olympics where we have had great success.
"This week also I believe, that our Olympic athletes, who like everyone else in the country, will remember you have shown exactly the same courage, professionalism and dedication.
"You make the country proud every day of the week and every week of the year."
Now I dont disagree about the courage, professionalism and dedication of our troops, far from it. But what he actually said was that they were showing the 'same courage, professionalism and dedication' as our Olympic athletes. Read what he said carefully, picture him speaking to the troops, and you will see what I mean.
Now lets also be clear. The athletes have indeed been highly dedicated and professional in their training and in competing. They also deserve all our support and are most admirable.
But note the courage bit.... I am not aware of any of our athletes who have had to brave bullets while training. How many of them have been shot at? How many have seen mates blown apart and then have had to get up and charge forward firing a gun to pull the mate to safety?
I am sorry but there is a world of difference between the magnificent athletes and our magnificent troops.
What he actually said devalues the work and bravery of our troops to that of an Olympic athlete.
I know Brown does not understand the Armed Forces and has no real interest in them. He has shown that many a time, but he is a politician and a politician should be more careful with what he says, but then Brown is not exactly a skilled politician either, given the disaster of his premiership and chancellorship.
There was one other thing in what he said that struck me. He promised a substantial amount of money for Afghanistan for rebuilding, a radio station and so on. He also recently committed a great deal of cash to Georgia. There are also rumours that for electoral reasons he will be borrowing £billions to pay up to £150 for every child benefit claimant.
Strange how he can always find cash for his pet projects, anything to make him feel good.
I am also sure that the 'hearts and minds' battle in Afghanistan will be helped by his promise and that is essential to a long term solution. Likewise all hard pressed families will be gratefuil for the return of some of the excessive tax money that they pay...
But what about the helicopters the troops desperately need, the extra 'boots' on the ground, better body armour, improved armoured vehicles and so on. What about the other Defence needs of the Navy and Air Force. We hear today that they want to off-load the Typhoons (or a large number of them). 10 years ago they told us these aircraft were essential for our security, now suddenly they are not, were they lying previously?
Yes, Gordon Brown can grandstand in Afghanistan but he simply is not interested enough in the Forces to make sure they are properly funded.