Why Russia’s defensive
Sir: The only pertinent fact from Fraser Nelson’s anti-Russia diatribe last week is that the country’s defence budget is 5 per cent that of America’s. (The New Cold War, 14 July). The rest of the article is scaremongering. An evening spent in Moscow should convince anyone that Russia has not left ‘the orbit of the West’, rather that it has embraced our way of life with gusto. Five minutes spent in a supermarket in Saint Petersburg, Saratov or Volgograd nails the lie that ‘the free market has perished in Russia’. And why should not Russian gas companies start to charge market prices for their output, after years of subsidising countries like the Ukraine?
Mr Nelson condemns Russia for having ‘weapons that are deadlier than anything developed by the Soviet Union’. Russian citizens, on the other hand, are probably quite relieved that their military hardware is better now than it was in the late 1980s. Mr Nelson writes about the Topol-M missile tests ‘sending a message’ to the West. Possibly, but the primary purpose of missile tests is surely to see if the things work properly. Why should we deny Russia the fundamental right to defend itself from external threat? Good for them if their military scientists are better than ours.
President Putin is a genuinely popular politician in his home country, and holds perhaps the most challenging job in the world. He has provided strong leadership to a proud nation that has historically demanded tough leaders. He’s not perfect, but Fraser Nelson falls into the trap of judging the President and Russia by ‘middle England’ standards. He should realise that much of Putin’s anti-Nato rhetoric is aimed at a receptive local audience. He should realise that not all of the former Soviet Union’s ills (KGB officials, poor infrastructure, lack of a free and fair press etc) can be solved in under two decades.
Stephen Ogden
Bowdon, Cheshire
Sir: It ain’t just Russia’s weakness that leads it to update its nuclear arsenal, but America’s foreign policy. Quite simply, when the sole superpower is claiming the right to intervene anywhere it pleases, an effective nuclear deterrent is the only sure way to put your country ‘off limits’ to such intervention. The Russians (or indeed the Iranians) would be crazy not to insist on having one.
Michael W Stone
Peterborough
National disservice
Sir: As an ex-soldier, I have to say Brigadier Maxwell is barking mad if he believes that the reintroduction of National Service will address the problem of today’s feral youth (Letters, 14 July). National Service was extremely inefficient as it required a disproportionately large training establishment, the investment in which, in today’s high-tech military world, could only be justified by a minimum of a politically unacceptable three years’ service, to say nothing of the infrastructure required — weapons, equipment, accommodation and training areas. Furthermore, it had catastrophic effects on the Services’ pay and conditions. Given the increase in population since 1959 and that women would also be conscripted, the Army alone would number at least 400,000. Brigadier Maxwell’s suggestion that they be deployed in civil disaster areas and UN peace keeping operations is, I am afraid, pie in the sky. The fact is these young men and women will merely twiddle their fingers itching to get out whilst destroying the Services’ hard-earned reputation for professionalism.
Finally, it is a gross insult to HM Forces to suggest there be rehabilitation units to educate the nation’s youth in how to behave. That is the responsibility of parents and schools.
Gavin Peck
Baughurst, Hants
Asleep in the saddle
Sir: Paul Johnson seems unaware that for centuries cavalry troopers around the world knew how to sleep on horseback and often had to do so. He even casts doubt on the ‘leathery old sweat’ who told him that you can fall asleep on a camel (And Another Thing, 30 June).
When Lieutenant Robert Wilson of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars wrote home from Palestine in August 1916 he recorded that: ‘My troop was last in the column and practically every man was sound asleep in the saddle.’
Naturally, there could be problems. A column might grind to a halt or lose its way in the night. A lot depended on the horses. It is claimed that Polish horses in the Napoleonic wars seldom strayed, unlike that of Major Longworth in Palestine a century or so later. While he was ‘fast asleep’, his horse decided to leave the Regiment and join up with the Artillery who were marching parallel. Major Longworth woke up back in camp with the gunners.
Ian Blair
Nympsfield, Glos
Death duties
Sir: More British prime ministers have died in office than Paul Johnson can recall ‘offhand’ (14 July). Most spectacularly, Spencer Perceval was assassinated in 1812 in the lobby of the House of Commons. Henry Pelham (1754), Lord Rockingham (1782) and George Canning (1827) also passed away whilst head of government.
Tim Holman
St Albans
Land of fire
Sir: Regarding the article on Argentina by Jonathan Davis (The Spectator, 7 July), please note that the country’s southernmost province is Tierra del Fuego, and not Santa Cruz. Furthermore, the previous Argentine constitution simple forbade re-elections without establishing any limit on the number of terms. Lastly, you can hardly say that the government’s recent setback in the Buenos Aires mayoral election was a ‘surprise’.
Luis Baqueriza
Buenos Aires
Eloquent argument
Sir: Drew Westen is simply talking about the art of rhetoric (Stop Making Sense, 14 July). The ancients taught it two millennia back.
Donald Last
Via email
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