Heroes need Army Chied
WELCOME the news that General sir Richard Dannatt, the former head of the army, is to become a tory defence adviser. He is a sensible professional soldier who will add weight and wisdom to the shadow cabinet team.
Predictably, Labour has cried foul, accusing him of taking potshots at Gordon Brown from whitehall but that’s missing the point. General Dannatt’s comments were made on behalf of the soldiers he served with. He wanted the equipment and right numbers for the job.
Labour brought these reprimands on itself. Having set a military objective it wasn’t prepared to meet the costs. In Manchester last week David Cameron said it was unreasonable to commit our boys to an open ended fight in afghanistan. He is right. the war requires leadership which Mr Brown hasn’t provided. Mr Cameron knows we can achieve success there and that men like General Dannatt know how best to do so.