Tim Worstall

Personally, as someone who enjoys nothing more than a little camping, marching, and target practice, I’d be first in line. No, no you won’t. The maximum conscription age in the UK has been 51. Both times it was 51 in fact. Will Self will be 51 on 26th September 2012. Amazing how people propose nonsenses [...]

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Tens of thousands of dead Nazis still being repatriated Tens of thousands of dead Nazi soldiers are still being repatriated from makeshift war graves on the Eastern Front, despite the war having ended more than six decades ago. Erm, it was a Nazi State, quite possibly a Nazi war, but that doesn’t make every conscript [...]

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Pashtun truck drivers from the north-west of the country began parking in the well-heeled streets, a short drive from Karachi’s port and oil terminal, in November 2011last year when Islamabad banned the transport of Nato supplies through its territory. The border closure was retaliation for the accidental killing by US forces of 24 Pakistani soldiers. [...]

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Make certain exceptions: immediate self defence and in the course of a Just War. OK, we can argue about whether Afghanistan actually is a Just War, but that it is a war does lead to a certain possible relxation of the restrictions against capital punishment. A US soldier has shot dead 16 Afghan civilians, nine [...]

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John is entirely innocent of any involvement in the terror attacks, or any allegiance to terrorism. That is not disputed by the American government. Indeed, all accusations of terrorism against John were dropped by the government in a plea bargain, which in turn was approved by the US district court in which the case was [...]

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And the demographic that is targeted is significant. The armed forces draws non-officer recruits mainly from young people with low educational attainment and living in poor communities. Research suggests schools from deprived areas are more likely to be visited by recruiters, with particular focus on the north-east of England, Scotland and Wales. Infantry recruits need only the [...]

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Doesn’t he have a point here? A defiant Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to bring war to the “homes, offices, families,” of Europe unless Nato stops airstrikes against his regime in Libya. The Libyan leader, facing an international arrest warrant for his brutal response to the rebel uprising, delivered the warning of vengeance in an audio [...]

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Lord Levene’s defence reform unit will call for a sweeping overhaul of the structure and management of the MoD, saying that military chiefs must be made accountable for their own budgets. The ranks of senior military officers could also be thinned out, and new, more flexible rules on promotion introduced. Typical. When you’ve an entirely [...]

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In Italy in 1944, at the Battle of Monte Cassino, Loewe further demonstrated his courage when he coolly carried wounded men from a minefield. Asked afterwards if he wanted anything, he is reported to have said: “A cup of tea would be nice.” I think that puts that one to rest, eh?

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Jeesus, the lousy little cockknobblers we have ruling us: For several years, the flag-draped coffins of fallen servicemen and women have been met by large crowds who line the streets to pay their respects as they return to British soil. But repatriation flights are to be diverted and will no longer be flown back to [...]

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Adml Sir Mark Stanhope said the campaign would have been more effective without the Government’s defence cuts. The aircraft carrier and the Harrier jump-jets scrapped under last year’s strategic defence review would have made the mission more effective, faster and cheaper, he said. Running an air power campaign from sea to shore is easier if [...]

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These attacks by the government: Heavy shelling and gunfire has rocked the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour, two days into a military assault that has caused more than 5,000 refugees to flee into neighbouring Turkey. The continued assault suggests some groups in the town are resisting the armed forces as the regime tries to crush [...]

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Diplomatic sources last night disclosed that recent intelligence suggested the Libyan dictator was “paranoid” and “on the run” from Nato’s escalating attacks on his regime. For there really are the Air Forces of several nations attempting to blow him into small pieces. Being worried about this, taking action to avoid it, is not paranoia. It’s [...]

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Yes, seems sensible enough that parachute allowances should only be paid to those likely to parachute. I think I’m right in saying that flying allowances are only paid to those who are current to fly?

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The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF), which I presently serve as president, Riiight….. In the US military, the chaplaincy is afforded great responsibility, access to service members, funding and senior positions within the chain of command. Oooooh Kaaaay….. Humanists wish to put forth chaplains, Ahhhh….. See how it’s done? The head humanist chaplain [...]

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Seriously? Mr Obama, addressing the United States and people across the globe shortly after 11.30pm on a Sunday night from the East Room of the White House, said that the Saudi-born Islamist had been killed on Sunday in an American ground operation in Abbotabad, Pakistan. He concluded: “Justice has been done.” I thought we’d all [...]

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This is slightly cruel, as Sir Henry Leach had a more than distinguished career. However, he does illustrate the standard Navy doctrine of how to become an Admiral: Henry Leach married, in 1958, Mary McCall, daughter of Admiral Sir Henry McCall Marry the daughter of an Admiral.

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A US soldier who pleaded guilty to the murders of three Afghan civilians has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after saying “the plan was to kill people” in a conspiracy with four fellow soldiers. The military judge said he initially intended to sentence Jeremy Morlock to life in prison with possibility of parole [...]

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Err, yes Mary. But what? We don’t have any carriers left, we’ve not got any planes that could fly from them, we simply do not have the sort of military forces which could do anything. So what you want to do then? Both the last lot and the current lot have left Britain entirely unable [...]

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Should a foreign national, one who joined the Army and then pulled a knife on a corporal, was put in the glasshouse and then discharged, be given leave to stay in the UK? Put like that, no. Add in that he was wounded in Iraq, when recovered, went back and is said to be suffering [...]

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