Some people have referred to the necessity of supporting the armed forces because of the possibility of a Hitler figure emerging. Such a statement could only be made by those in utter false consciousness as the biggest rogue state on the planet (whom are backed to the hilt by the British ruling class) is, of course, the United States.
Think this is rhetoric?
You might not if you lived in Vietnam and Cambodia where 4 million people were murdered in the 60s and 70s, or in Iraq where over a million were killed by sanctions in the 90s imposed by the West, and then another million in the last 5 years. If you live in Latin America you will know how a democratically elected government in Chile was toppled with the assistance of the CIA on 9.11, 1973 with 30,000 people murdered and 300,000 forced into exile, you will also know of the history of El Salvador, Nicaragua etc.
Indeed, it's a safe bet to say that anybody attempting to build a fairer and more just society faces military intervention from "our" (as you call them) or America's armed forces & not just abroad, it is well known that in 1984, the British Armed forces had operations against striking miners and when Firefighters went on strike a few years back, there was talk of the army stepping in as strike breakers.
The great socialist historian, CLR James once referred to an army as being a "minature of the society that created it".
One of the most class ridden institutions in our society is the British Armed Forces. We hear horror stories of the accomodation afforded to rank and file soldiers, and then read of thousands of taxpayers money used to pay to send the officer's kids to elite private schools. The officers are always invariably from the middle and upper class. The rank and file soldiers are denied the basic human right to form a trade union. Yet we hear stories of soldiers even dying (as happened in Wales) in the games the officers refer to as "beasting".
We should at the very least encourage and support rank and file soldiers to organise within the army against the officers, to be able to have democratic forums where, for example, they discuss and debate issues such as operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and why they are their. Representatives of these rank and file bodies could appear on TV and Radio. Why should we only hear from the top military brass?
The ruling class, would of course, attempt to smash any attempts of ordinary soldiers to organise as it would threaten their interests, but it could provide the basis for working class soldiers to stop fighting for the rich and start to think how they could use their skills to support and defend the struggle of working class people.
But isn't this the fundamental flaw of the arguments of the "we would all be speaking German brigade"? That they fail to understand that people in Britain don't have a common interest, but that the role of armed bodies of men and women like the British Army is to defend and extend the power of the rich and powerful, and smash any attempts to create social justice at home.
