Britannist

Obviously, Hereward 77, I hope that you are not correct in that prediction.

However, some Governments of certain european nations (in the EU) appear to be spending well below the amount they should be on their national defence - perhaps one or two of these Governments might be more for Russian leader Putin than they are for NATO :evil: .

Hereward77

NATO has become the EU's military arm of late, engaging in globalist "peacekeeping" missions, etc. It is certainly not the mighty defensive organisation it once was.

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"The social experiment in China under Chairman Mao's leadership is one of the most important and successful in history."
David Rockefeller, New York Times, August 10, 1973

Britannist

:evil:

Britannist

Gordon Brown knows that many of the seats the Conservatives won from Labour at the last General Election were won not because the Conservative vote increased much in those constituencies - but because the Liberal Dims took some anti-Iraq 'war' voters from Labour thus allowing the Conservatives to take those marginal Labour-held seats narrowly.

Mr. Brown realises that to get the Labour vote back up in those seats (i.e. to win them back) and in other constituencies he must get back those Labour voters who switched to the anti-Iraq 'war' Liberal Dims and to the Greens at the last General Election.

There are quite alot of these voters - they boosted the national vote share of the Liberal Dims from 18% to 23% at the last General Election (by switching from Labour to the Liberal Dims in protest at the Iraq 'war' and UK participation in it). If Mr. Brown can get these people to vote Labour again, they would push the Labour vote up (across the UK) from just over 35% (last time) to over 40% at the next General Election (projection based on Labour holding on to the votes it got at the last General Election).

To get these voters back and push Labour over the crucial 40% point (under which many Governments get their credibility to be in office under 'first-past-the-post') Mr. Brown (as Prime Minister) might decide that he must totally disengage the UK from the situation in Iraq (i.e. pull out all British soldiers from Iraq by the time of the next General Election).

Gordon Brown is going to try to do whatever it takes (within his power) to keep Labour in office as the Government of the UK - and with a working majority - after the next General Election.

And if pulling UK troops out of Iraq helps do this - he will do it.