This is an excellent speech from Rory Stewart MP. Although it is entitled Time to End the War in Afghanistan he covers a much wider area of defence policy. Please listen to it while you browse this morning. The last few minutes are particularly interesting.
Rory Stewart is the Tory MP for Penrith and the Border. He is perhaps one of the brightest politicians occupying the green benches.
One of his particular interests is defence. His father was a soldier and Rory spent a year with the Black Watch through the - now defunct - MoD sponsored Gap Year Commissions system which offered places to the brightest and the best. He would have undertaken a few weeks training at Sandhurst then been posted, with officer status, to a regiment; in his case the Black Watch. (Although I say GYCs are no longer, I note the Para's reserve battalion are now offering something similar.)
This is an MP with a conscience and a brain.
Thanks to Fitaloon and others for bringing this to my attention.
Posts
26 comments:
Man talks sense in a wilderness of buffoons.
No Del-Boy in him.
“This is an MP with a conscience and a brain.”
… a rare commodity which should be highly valued.
Excellent , a most excellent speech.
Thanks to all for bringing this to our attention.
Hi SR.That is the first politician I can recall that I have ever listened to, and concentrated on every word ,without a trace of boredom.
He talks sense,he knows his subject well. And he talks honestly, which in today's politics is a great rarity.
Could it be that the "big boys" should listen to what he has to say?
Brilliant - great speech from a man that knows his subject. How can man of his intelligence be a Tory MP. Maybe I'm old but finding myself in agreement with a Tory of foreign affairs is a shock. The seuqnce of 'decisive years' and the numbers of language experts in the UK diplomatic mission realy hits the nail.
A most impressive young man. What would happen if we had a few dozen MPs of this intelligence and grasp.
I agree almost 100% with his evaluation of the Afghan situation. It almost coincides with the view of Field Marshal Lord Roberts of Kandahar back in the 1880's "The less the Afghans see of us, the better they will like us". (wording approximate)
I think that his appreciation of the Balkan situation is overoptimistic and his view of the EU's role simplistic - like the man who believes all of the advertising and label on a tin.
I question his assumption that the right to make "intervention" (albeit of the right sort) is necessarily beneficial and think that British forces should, in general, only be involved where British interests are at stake and in cases of urgent humanitarian assistance - but not as a pretext for something else.
Some good points, thanks for sharing.
Cameron's replacement?
Hannan and Carswell in Cabinet?
Eric Pickles given a new set of titanium teeth?
No Crinkly, he's the real deal.
I just happened to see it posted by Fitaloon JRB then I received a couple of emails giving me the link.
I'd like to think so Apogee, but do they ever listen to common sense?
No PR posturing with this man fatman. No reading of pre-prepared notes.
I think it's quite possible he was involved in Kosovo when he was attached to the Black Watch. Dates would be about right.
Agree with your last paragraph Edward.
A pleasure FM711.
I would like to think the Tories have enough sense to hold onto him Gordon, but we'll have to wait and see won't we.
Voices of reason - like Princes in the Tower. Those same towers house the unspeakable carrying on their grandiose hubrisdic lives in another world to that which they control.
Like children being struck with a stick, the children carry on in fear, in servitude, powerless through the very fear that keeps the rulers behind security barriers. The spin doctor middlemen come and go - expendible resources, like troops on the ground. Then along comes a Breivik, and the belt gets tightened yet more.
It's all so predictable.
It is all so predictable Derek and the fear factor is raised regularly as has been shown the past week.
I assume that Rory Stewart has links to MI6.
He does not tell us that al Qaeda is the CIA and its friends.
He does not tell us that the CIA-NATO destabilised and broke up Yugoslavia.
He does not tell us that Afghanistan was relatively civilised before the CIA put the mad Moslems into power.
- Aangirfan
I would assume so too Aangirfan.
No he doesn't tell the rest, you're right. But his reasons for pulling out I consider to be the best I've heard.
Oh RM, I'm sure quite a few MPs have connections, or contacts, with the intelligence services. They seem to have a finger in every pie.
Good investigative journalism RM. :) Yes, I stand by that comment because his biography is less than clear about his time/experience with the military. It's played up by the MSM but it was only a year - although a valuable year for him to make handy contacts.
SR. Sorry about my comments. I've removed them. We've no idea what he did at this years Bilderberg meeting or whether he was an MI6 asset. It's all hersay and I'll bow to your superior knowledge.
RM my knowledge isn't superior. Others know far more than me. I was just interested in this man because he has an interest in military matters and so few do.
There was nothing in your comments that requires any apology from you. Was good to see you'd done your homework. :)
SR. Yes Rory seems to be well informed.
I've been at the Open Golf at Carnoustie this week and it seems to be getting zero coverage on telly. Brilliant golf and great weather as well. It's another conspiracy lol
Paula Creamer ... Hot.
I heard a Taiwanese woman won RM and the Scots woman was around 7th? Great weather right enough. Couldn't have been better.
Post a Comment