Posted on 01/14/2007 1:33:36 PM PST by John Jorsett
A 400-YEAR epoch of world history is about to draw to a close. If Britain's current Labor government has its way, Britain's Royal Navy will mothball at least 13, and perhaps as many as 19, of its remaining 44 ships, or nearly half its effective fleet.
With one bureaucratic stroke, the Ministry of Defense will end a naval tradition reaching back to Sir Francis Drake - reducing the Royal Navy, which 40 years ago was still the second-largest fleet in the world, to the size of navies of countries like Indonesia and Turkey.
This decision, of course, has to be set against the background of Britain's decades-long decline as a world power. But it also reflects a struggle for the soul of Great Britain that has been going since World War II: Is Britain part of an English-speaking, Atlantic-based strategic alliance that includes the United States and Canada? Or is it part of Europe as envisioned by technocrats in Paris, Brussels and Berlin?
NEXT month's final decision on whether to scrap the Royal Navy may supply us with the answer. Because the Blair government's drastic plans include more than taking existing ships out of commission. The service's entire future as a blue-water navy (that is, a navy capable of operations outside Britain's own waters) may be forfeit.
According to The Daily Telegraph, plans for two new fleet carriers of the kind vital for fighting today's War on Terror and projecting power overseas - and forwhich $6.9 billion had already been set aside - will also be scrapped. Two new destroyers, which were supposed to replace at least some of the retired ships, are also out of the picture. The Telegraph even reports (Jan. 8) that all officer promotions in the navy are to be suspended for the next five years.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
King Arthur would weep for Britain today.
Watching Britain these days is like watching an old parent becoming more and more senile. I don't believe Britain has many years left.
This is not surprising. The MC/PC member states of the EU deserve to participate in their own demise.
Europe is lost -- and will be majority Muslim within two generations.
End of story.
I'm sure their next class of ships will be the "Prophet Muhammed" class.
Might as well write off the Falklands.
The British army has also abolished parachute training.
Brits ARE Europeans.
The Brits don't have to worry about defending Britain. We'll do that for them, and probably get yelled at for it.
What they lose is their ability to project power elsewhere on their own. If the Argentines take the Falklands back again, and America stays neutral again, the Brits will just have to grin and bear it.
Wow...although, I suppose this is a good thing. Given the demographic trends in Europe, I don't think having England continue as a strong military force is in our best interests.
When did this happen? No one tell the 4 battalions of the Parachute Regiment and the SAS and Royal Marines.
Guess they won't need this song anymore:
When Britain first, at heaven's command,
Arose from out the azure main,
Arose, arose, arose from out the a-azure main,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:
Rule Britania!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
The nations, not so blest as thee,
Must in their turn, to tyrants fall,
Must in ,must in, must in their turn, to tyrants fall,
While thou shalt flourish, shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and envy of them all.
(Chorus)
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Brittons never, never, never shall be slaves.
The Sun set On The British Empire in August 1914. They had a great run though. 1588 to 1914. 326 years. As Empires go that's not bad.
England was never European in their thinking. With the sole exception that they had ambitions, because of their Norman origins, to own part of France.
Even the Labour Party was inimical to becoming part of Europe, until MacMillan sidelined Maggie Thatcher and decided it would be economically profitable to join the EU.
Which, incidentally, has proven to be a mistake. The Anglosphere has done better economically and culturally than most other parts of the world. England would have been far better off to have moved in that direction, instead of throwing its fate in with France and Belgium. Now, probably, it's too late for them to change their minds, because the Conservative Party is corrupt and moribund, and offers no political alternative to Labour.
A regrettable development.
I hear a faint whirring sound, coming out of the East... and it's getting louder!
That would be Sir Winston L S Churchill spinning in his grave. And Sir Francis Drake. And Admiral Horatio Nelson...
> The British army has also abolished parachute training.
The Black Watch is no more...
Britain spends a ton on benefits for immigrants from all over the world.
Could this be a preview of our future?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.