Should General Richard Dannatt Resign?

markmcdonald Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 07:41:10 AM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

The Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt told the Daily Mail that British troops should "get out soon" and that the presence of troops exacerbates the security problem.



The General has not said anything new, but is it right that the Chief of the General Staff should make such a public statement in an interview with the Daily Mail and later on Radio 4? If the General has such little confidence in Government foreign policy should he still remain in his position?

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Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? | 17 comments (17 topical)

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#1)

by swatantra on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 08:41:03 AM GMT

Yes he is stating the bleeding obvious: the prescense of coalition troops is itself a provocation and simply worsening the situation. Pull the troops out by Xmas, even if we end up leaving in disgrace. Its the only way.
To contemplate staying on another 5 Yrs is simply out of the question. Let the Iraqi's sort out their own internal problems. Mind you, the Americans still have one Ace up their sleeve: they could always threaten to reinstate Saddam in power. That might get the Kurds, Sunnis and Shites thinking.


Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#2)

by Anonymous on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 09:43:00 AM GMT

Yes he should resign as he has crossed the important constitutional line - elected politicians make policy and the military (like the civil service) carry out the policy in a none-political way.
If generals start determining which policy they choose to enact we are on the slippery slope away from a democratic structure toward some type of military involvement in governing the country.
If he feels strongly he can resign and run for Parliament, not abuse his exisiting job.


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#11)

by liz on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 02:22:20 PM GMT

I have read that Des Browne gave permission for the interview and that an MOD press officer was present. What folly expecting a military man to give such a lengthy interview knowing how statements can be taken out of context.  Very naive of the Secretary of State for Defence.  Anyway, the general went way beyond his remit and into the political arena in the interview.  The press officer should have done his job properly and stopped him from this serious breach of protocol.  We cannot have a senior military figure criticise the policy of an elected government. We have wonderful examples around the world of the consequences of this!  General Dannatt should immediately resign (fall on his sword) and if he fails to do so, be removed from his post once this has settled down. The Press Officer should also lose his job.


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#4)

by Juvenal on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 11:50:13 AM GMT

I can't see why any pullout should be scheduled to coincide with a christian religious festival.  And I still don't think that we are collectively prepared for the possible consequences of too early a pullout, which may include a civil war that could be even more damaging than what's happened over the last few years.

The suggestion that we should 'let the Iraqis sort out their own internal problem' suggests that we had nothing to do with causing the problem in the first place.  


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#3)

by Mark Wadsworth on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 10:01:28 AM GMT

No of course not!

Since when is stating the bleeding obvious a sackable offence?


Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#5)

by Anonymous on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 12:27:01 PM GMT

No, he shouldn't resign.  He should be sacked.  Today.
He, as one of the Joint Chiefs, has had his opportunity to make his view known to the PM and Sec of S for Def.
Politicians are elected and are accountable to us at the ballot box.  The Head of the Army is appointed and is accountable to the PM & his Govt.


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#16)

by Anonymous on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 08:42:18 PM GMT

I've never heard so much rubbish.   General Dannatt was sticking up for the troops who come from just the sorts of families that Labour should be supporting.   I'm surprised that you take any notice about a Daily Mail interview!


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#6)

by Glass House on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 12:38:40 PM GMT

The issue really isn't about whether you agree with what he says - it's about the fact that he has abused his position and ignored the chain of command.

ELECTED politicians give the orders to the military and the military follows them. Any other way of doing things is profoundly undemocratic.

Whether you agree with them or not, elected politicians have legitimacy - he has none. He should be sacked.


Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#7)

by TheLabourHumanist on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 12:43:13 PM GMT

Of course back in the first world war the british army was led by pontificating public school buffons whereas today.....

I am also furious about his comments that essentially say all non-christians aren't moral people. Unless we get some grovelling apologies it's  sackable stuff.


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#8)

by TheLabourHumanist on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 12:45:04 PM GMT

hmm what happened to my web site tag??? ;-)
http://humanistsforlabour.typepad.com/


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#9)

by LeftrightLeftright on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 01:15:37 PM GMT

When military staff agree with the government view, no such furore arises. They are often deployed by politicians to give an apparently professional and dispassionate point of view, free of political opinions. During the invasion, broadcasters were obliged (I cannot recall whether formally or informally) to make clear that reports from Iraq were filed under the beady eye of Iraqi government regualtions, but no such requirement was made of reporters embedded with US or UK military units.

If a government opens the doors to military comment (and let's be clear, this government is hardly the first to do so), you have to take the supportive comments with the non supportive ones, or not put military staff in front of the media at all.

There's another problem (though the evidence is anecdotal) of realpolitik: he's expressing an opinion that is widely, if not overwhelmingly shared, so sacking him would make the government look weak, not strong.


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#10)

by Juvenal on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 01:30:43 PM GMT

With thousands of troops operating in two very dangerous theatres, I simply cannot see the government sacking Dannatt, even if they wanted to.


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#12)

by HOWLERMONKEY on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 06:27:39 PM GMT

There has been a long history of senior military staff conflicting with various political executives.

The most notable of which are General Walker, General MacArthur, and most notably in the British sphere of influence General Claude Auchinleck  who was sacked from a successful command by Churchill due to being Jewish, and not being trusted with a command with a possible fall-back position( if Cairo fell) in Palestine. It was considered that he could possibly use British forces to set up a situation that would bring about an Israeli state. His sacking was blamed (officially) on his inability to work with his general staff.

The current situation is a very common with the dichotomy between the military and politicians, although this particular instance was badly handled.


Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#14)

by alexhilton on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 12:24:07 PM GMT

Maybe, but Churchill was no military or tactical genius - neither as a soldier nor as a wartime politician. His strength was leadership.


[ Parent ]

Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#13)

by Anonymous on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 07:20:11 PM GMT

Ir's quite obvious that the other 'anonymous' is a fervent supporter of our wonderful leader, the lying war criminal that is called Tony Blair.  I'm not too interested in the argument that generals and civil servants shouldn't enter the political debate - they are voters and this is a democracy, isn't it?  Or it was before Blair got in.  Quite frankly if Blair's cabinet of Bush-toadies isn't willing to listen to a whole lot of advice from a whole lot of top level people such as Sir Richard Dannatt (as they sure don't listen to the voters) then in my view Dannatt are welcome to speak out indeed it is vital in order to preserve their professional competence and save lives.  So if this blows this decrepit policy out of the water and sinks Blair with it then good.
The other glimmer of good news this week was that Brown was lukewarm about the war.  Oh that was supposed to be an anti-Brown slur by Blunkett?  Well I for one can't wait for Prime Minister Brown's government, he might just listen to Dannatt and millions of others and get us out of this mess.


Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#15)

by Anonymous on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 03:18:26 PM GMT

Whether he should resign/be sacked is completely missing the story here, isn't it?  The fact is that he hasn't, and that speaks volumes for the weakness of Blair's position.  He's even tried to neutralise the issue by "associating himself" with the General!


Re: Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? (#17)

by JonRogers on Sat Oct 14, 2006 at 09:14:34 PM GMT

I do have some doubts about generals speaking out on policy questions, but let's face it, he isn't the one who should be resigning.

That should be Blair and all the others who backed the war (even if they only did so to save their own jobs...)


Should General Richard Dannatt Resign? | 17 comments (17 topical)