So, General Dannatt is to be a Tory Peer. This worries me greatly. On balance, General Dannatt did a good job as Army chief. Not a great job, but a good one. His interventions boosted the morale of frontline troops and his concern for the care of soldiers, especially the wounded, was important. Conversely, many defense analysts thought he was too cautious on military reform, blocking the Army’s transformation into an effective counter-insurgency force and opposing stop gap procurement in case it compromised future acquisition projects. But the real concerns over General Dannatt’s ennoblement are different.
General Dannatt should have given his sucecssor a clear run at the job. He should have had the decency showed him by his predecessor, Mike Jackson. By taking a Tory peerage, he has set a dangerous precedent for future Army chiefs. What government will trust that military advice is impartial if it becomes normal practice to take party political affiliation upon retirement? Before anyone mentions Lord West, there is daylight between the former Navy chief’s non-military remit as a Security Minister and what is likely to be a Defence brief for General Lord Dannatt’s.
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