A message to William Hague : What is the point of having an Army?

I've been brought up to believe that the British armed forces are the best in the world. If it is true then it must also be true that our politicians are the worst in the world. How can I say this? Well the purpose of having armed forces is to protect the citizens of the nation.Paul and Rachel Chandler were kidnapped by Somali pirates whilst sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania in October.

It has emerged that a vessel of the Royal Navy was on hand and could have intervened. This article in the Independent explains the view of the ministry of defence that no action was taken because the couple might have been killed. Daily Express columnist Frederick Forsyth has uncovered information that the crew of the Navy vessel asked permission to intervene but were denied it by Whitehall. Well I ask this. If we really have the worlds greatest armed forces, then William Hague, the new Foreign Secretary should instruct the MOD to launch a rescue mission. Does anyone seriously believe that a rag bag hotch potch band of Somali pirates would be any sort of a match for a squad of Royal Marines and SAS. I would go further. Once we'd got the Chandlers back, if I were Hague I'd instruct the Royal Navy to go on a search and destroy offensive against these Somali Pirates. Sink all of their vessels and destroy all of their operating bases. Once this had been completed, Hague could announce that this was would happen to any rag bag band of such people who in any way threatened British pensioners. Apperently we have to spend £100 billion on a Trident replacement. If we can't even defend our citizens against a ragbag bunch of pirates, how can we possibly believe we'd ever use a nuclear weapon. We haven't got the balls. I think that such an action against this ragbag bunch of chancers would send a far stronger message and make British citizens sleep soundly in their beds (or yatch cabins) the world over.

This may sound like a very harsh course of action for a lefty such as myself, but I take the view that these pirates do nothing for the ordinary people of Somalia. Until such time as the develeped nations deal seriously with such lawlessness, that country can never move on. These people make millions fro piracy, which means that decent Somalians will never get the chance to build up their country. If we won't use our armed forces against a ragbag bunch of pirates, why have them? I know quite a few servicemen and ex servicemen. They are ashamed at how we sit on our hands when things such as this happen. Is it because the Royal Marines and the SAS say "Sorry we can't do it, we may get hurt?". No of course it isn't. That's their job and they'd love to do it. It is because are politicians are cowards. I can guarantee this. If we got our boys and girls to do their job and sorted this out, people would walk with an extra spring in their step. They would feel proud to be British.  There is no nice way to deal with piracy. The very worst way is to pay them off. We have a new government. If it shows that it has balls, it may just succeed. If it hasn't, then it deserves to fail. If the Chandlers are still in captivity in three months time or we've paid a ransom, then William Hague will have shown that he's a failure and not fit for the job.