Advertisement New WaysNew Ways Would you like to advertise on ICN? Click to learn more.

'Armed Forces Day must re-focus on conflict resolution'


David Cameron's desire to beat a war drum for military force as the "front and centre of our national life", fails to engage key policy issues on the Afghan conflict and to acknowledge research findings about the public's desire for more realistic ways of remembering the victims of war, says Christian political thinktank Ekklesia.

The comments follow the Prime Minister's widely publicised call for "an explosion of red, white and blue" in the run-up to Armed Forces Day this Saturday, coinciding ironically with a new, critical United Nations Security Council report on the failure of recent attempts to apply additional force in Afghanistan.

Simon Barrow, co-director of Ekklesia, said: "Historically, governments that try to shift attention away from economic crisis and foreign policy flaws by whipping up patriotism, risk being seen as patronising the public and failing to recognise the real policy challenges. A different approach is needed."

"In the case of Afghanistan, people remain rightly sceptical about a war on which Britain has spent £20 billion in the past nine years. The latest report from the UN monitoring mission on the Taliban confirms that efforts to extend Western control over new parts of the country have escalated rather than lessened violence, while the UK military's death rate has been four times higher than the US army's. All this despite spending nearly £2 billion per year on the Afghan conflict since 2004, on top of regular annual defence spending of £35 billion and a forward commitment of £10 billion on Trident replacement, while huge cuts are promised in public services."

Ekklesia points to its ComRes-conducted national opinion poll last year, which indicated an overwhelming public desire to see peacebuilding, the huge cost of war to civilians and a recognition of losses on all sides as part of Remembrance, rather than jingoism. The think-tank is also reiterating its six-point proposal to move government security strategy from armed force to conflict prevention and transformation.

"An effective Afghan strategy means drawing the different factions into a credible political process, involving the regional powers, and investing in economic and social transformation. Escalating armed force cannot achieve these things, and the Prime Minister's attempts to whip up military fervour at a time of sobering news about the 300th fatality of the nine-year military campaign are misplaced. The flames of global conflict need to be addressed soberly rather than stoked right now," says Ekklesia's Simon Barrow.

For more information see: ekklesia.co.uk/content/about/about.shtml


Tags: Ekklesia

Adverts

Mill Hill Missionaries

We offer publicity space for Catholic groups/organisations. See our advertising page if you would like more information.

We Need Your Support

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

You can support our journalism by advertising with us or donating to ICN.

Mobile Menu Toggle Icon