Blinkered Incompetence

Letters from a Tory and I were both disgusted at Brown's attitude to the Afghan war. After yesterday's exchanges, I still am. It was pure, undiluted Brown at his evasive worst.

Asked why helicopters had not been provided, he proudly told us all that he was spending a huge amount of money to provide them. No, Gordon, we want to know why you didn't plan ahead and get them in place before. You have, after all, had 8 years of war so far - which ought to have given you enough notice.

Of course, in the fantasy world of our Prime Minister, spending £1.4bn several years ago, which would have given us the helicopters we need, when we need them, is much worse than spending £6bn now, even if that means we get them too late. He really does seem to think that the more he spends "invests" the better. The outcome is irrelevant; it is the amount of cash thrown away that matters.

I'll leave it to the Daily Mash's made up vox-pops, who are (as usual) perfect:

Bill McKay, from Doncaster, said: "When it comes to wars and stuff I'm inclined to go with generals and admirals, rather than some bloke called 'Bob Ainsworth' who spent 20 years as a shop steward in Coventry before deciding to sit around on his fat arse all day spending my money."

Emma Bradford, from Stevenage, said: "The problem seems to be bombs at the side of the road. [...] "I'm no scientist, but it would appear that the only available option would therefore be some sort of flying machine."

and:

Tom Logan, from Finsbury Park, added: "Do we want a state of the art Olympic velodrome so we can maintain our global dominance at riding a bike, or do we want more live soldiers? It's a tricky one isn't it?"