BPM, Cameron and the Military

Judging from many a newspaper headline last week, one would have thought that Britain was still the largest military power in the world, the great superpower who could send out the gunboats to enforce their will on the natives; in this particular instance Libya. The newspapers were of course referring to Cameron's plan for a no fly zone against Libya, whilst also calling for Gadaffi to go. The trouble with this plan is that the Americans did not approve and since they are actually the only country capable of enforcing a no-fly zone, the plan has disappeared without a trace. What is of concern, however, is that Cameron has quickly got the BPM (British Prime Ministers) illness and quite early on in his term of office.

The BPM, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the effects of the practical dictatorial powers a British Prime Minister has, to the extent you rapidly age during your term (e.g. Blair, Major,Brown) and more worryingly you become increasingly detached from reality when it comes to the actual real power that Britain has, the illness becomes even more pitiful because every British Prime Minister allows for cuts to their armed forces and then expects them to do the same, if not more, than before.

This first Cameron intervention with regards to an international crisis is all well and good, but when will he realise that Britain is quite incapable of playing an independent role in world affairs or even a supporting role, whilst he, like his predecessors are hastily slashing the cash allocated to the Navy, Army and Airforce. Or perhaps will this early onset, the gap between reality and illusion will get even worse?