Who Pays the Costs of War?
Ahead of a public meeting organised by Hastings Stop the War, RICHARD WISTREICH considers the dangers of armed conflict and invites us to participate in the debate
Our leaders would have us believe we are hurtling towards an inevitable war with Russia or China or Iran or some other ‘enemy’ ‒ and very soon. The UK military budget is already the fifth largest in the world (£74 billion a year), considerably more than Israel, Ukraine or Saudi Arabia, all currently at war. Yet our forces are apparently so woefully run-down and ill-equipped that there’s no option but to spend vast amounts more on the latest hi-tech ships, drones, planes, missiles, cyber, etc. ‒ the target is a staggering £120 billion by 2035. All this money will, of course, be poured into the coffers of international arms companies.
The message being pumped out every day is that war is unavoidable, and that there’s no alternative to this spending frenzy. This means cutting back on education, housing, health and social resilience. It also means less money for dealing with the catastrophe towards which we and our children are heading at breakneck speed unless we take serious action very soon: climate breakdown.
As part of this warmongering, the government now has to persuade many more young people to join the military machine. Their answer? £70 million this year to fund school cadet forces; hundreds of ‘fun’ visits to primary and secondary schools by BAE Systems in partnership with the armed forces; and an £18 million marketing campaign, all targeted towards disadvantaged communities places like Hastings, where unemployment is among the highest in the South-East.
Britain is the only European country that takes recruits as young as 16: a quarter of army recruits are children under 18. They may well believe that this is their best chance of a secure future, but they are the ones who, as ever throughout history, would end up fighting on the front lines, likely suffering physical or mental injuries, possibly having to kill, and even paying with their young lives.
Whatever your views on balancing UK defence needs with its other priorities or how the current drive to war is likely to affect you, our community, and especially young people, you are warmly invited to a meeting and open discussion organised by Hastings Stop the War on Sunday 4 October from 5.00-7.00pm at the Isabel Blackman Centre, 3 Winding Street, Hastings, TN34 3AT.
Speakers include Dr Stuart Griffiths, who joined the Paras aged 16 and served in Belfast during The Troubles; Roxi Farhadi, a student at the Brighton University; and Felix Krekow Rojas, a leader of the School Strike Movement Against Conscription in Germany.
Entrance is free, but please register for tickets at eventbrite.co.uk/e/who-pays-the-costs-of-war-tickets- 1999154397619
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