The Cost of War

John Sydenham

As we hear talk of being prepared for war we should spare a moment to consider what this means. What does war mean for a mature adult?

When our parents die we grieve and feel empty for weeks and even years later there is a pang of sadness as we recall their loss. The feeling is similar when a brother or sister dies. When a child dies most parents find that the word 'grief' is inadequate. On the death of a child, even if that child is a young adult, the pain is almost beyond endurance and even years afterwards those who have suffered such a blow will often stream with tears when it is remembered.

A society that forgets the cost of war is in peril. Remembrance Day has brought this into sharp relief. When I was young I remember one or two women being gently led away from the local war memorial, dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs. Now the day is marked by a procession and foolish art work that has no comprehension of the pity of war.

Parents should be aware that a general war is only justified if, on balance, the loss confronting their children from occupation and invasion would exceed that from fighting.

Thirty years ago it would have been obvious to everyone that resisting an imminent threat from Communism or Islam would be worth the terrible suffering that might result. We could not countenance the idea of our children living under a totalitarian regime, a regime that might condemn them to prison or worse for no greater crime than speaking their mind or reading the ‘wrong’ book. We would not dream of allowing our daughters and granddaughters to be imprisoned in fabric and treated as possessions by their husbands and society. The risk of losing our children to war was outweighed by the risk of losing our children to oppression.

Today the risks from oppression are internal as much as external.

If our army is sent to war we might easily find ourselves being governed by Internationalists who would use this to crush the delicate remnants of our democracy at home. We might find a fifth column of foreigners in our midst, among the millions who are here, who would take advantage of the absent armies of the state to seize power at home. This is the first time in the history of Britain that the state is failing so badly that a general war might destroy it whether that war is won or lost.

Would you send your children to war when our own country could be lost from within? Why would you risk the pain? The British must put their own house in order first if war is not to mean almost inevitable defeat from without or within.

Detail: The Strategic Defence Review 2025 notes that a force will need to be created to protect military installations in the UK. The implication is that this protection is from 5th column activity. A Survation opinion poll showed that 28% of British Muslims had sympathy with ISIS. This is about 1 million possible 5th columnists from the Muslim community alone. In 2021 roughly 3m people without UK citizenship were living in the UK (c.5% of popn). At least 30% of the UK population are Internationalists who do not believe in Nation States and envisage a multicultural future that is inevitably controlled by surveillance and oppression.