Letter to the I: Terrorist Wars

Malcolm Pittock's letter was as offensive as it was callously untruthful.  His naming of our recent interventions as "terrorist wars" makes it sound as though our objectives were the same as those of terrorists we oppose.  On this point he is wrong and I am sure he knows it.  I need remind him that the war in Afghanistan happened in response to the 9/11 attacks only after the Taliban refused to turn over the plotters of those attacks.  The Taliban implausibly thought it was good enough for them to be tried by their courts.  Pittock's letter is symptomatic of the poisonous allure of Corbyn's brand of appeasement, pushing fanatics of his creed to revise history to support their arguments.

Regards

Zachary Barker

Letter to the I: Politicians Letter

Darren Wilson's letter raised many good points.  However the real reason for this dryly presented election is ultimately down to public hypocrisy about how politicians should present themselves.   In a nutshell politicians can do no right.  If they give a speech off the cuff it is either considered too amateur or too gimmicky.  If a politician speaks plainly about their personal lives people either find fault in them or find them too boring.  Often if politicians try to be funny they are seen as fake or cynical.  Maybe if we accept politicians as human beings as we accept ourselves, we will be able to see a more human portrait of them.

Regards

Zachary Barker

Bristol

Letter to the I: Jeremy Corbyn and the IRA

In the debate about Jeremy Corbyn and his association with the IRA there are two false narratives going on.  The first is that perpetuated by Corbyn that during The Troubles he was merely some sort of peace envoy, which seems hard to believe due to him virtually ignoring those who support a united Ireland by peaceful means alone, namely the SDLP.  The second is perpetuated by Conservative commentators who condemn his IRA links the most.  They wax lyrical about the IRA being evil and yet skirt over the Unionist dominated apartheid state that Northern Ireland once was.  The conditions of this state helped revive the IRA from being a dying movement.

Regards

Zachary Barker

Letter to the I: Manchester Attacks

There is a depressing pattern that sets in after such awful terrorist attacks as that which happened at the Manchester Arena on Monday.  Not even waiting until the bodies of the victims are cold on the slab reactionaries use the shock of the moment to denounce "liberals" and "liberalism".  Not only that they have the gall to invoke the spectre of the victims or the grieving parents of those victims to push their half baked ideas.  They should remember that some of the least liberal countries in the world including Russia and China are not immune to terrorism.  They should think about more what freedom is worth before they sell it so cheaply.

Regards

Zachary Barker

Letter to the I: Food Security

Bryony Nierop-Reading's letter referred to the problem of food security in this country.  With respect I believe they are too idealistic in believing that we can gain anything close to food self sufficiency. Our island has not been food self sufficient for centuries even when the population was much smaller than it is now.  This is bad in that strategically this makes us vulnerable to nation-states blockading our island nation.  But it is good in that no matter how much the nativists dislike it, we need to reach out to foreign partners to communicate and trade with.  Our geographic dilemma also means keeping in mind the importance of maintaining a strong Royal Navy.

Regards

Zachary Barker

Letter to the I: University Tuition Fees

I completely disagree with the Labour Party's policy to abolish university tuition fees.  Current legislation ensures that the repayments towards are reasonable and that this debt does not affect  credit rating.  The £11.2 billion could be put to much better use since it is nearly enough to reverse the austerity cuts, from welfare to legal aid.  I am a graduate who accepts that there are bigger priorities than my fees.

Regards

Zachary Barker

Letter to the I: Corbyn's Foreign Policy

Sir Michael Fallon's branding of Corbyn a "pacifist" was a clumsy attack that allowed Corbyn to side step explaining the worrying contradictions in his foreign policy world view.  Corbyn has waxed lyrical about the alleged folly of intervening in Iraq and Syria against IS or the Assad regime.  Yet he has completely ignored the fact that not only has Iraq officially requested our help, in Syria a lack of intervention on our part has not stopped the Russians taking advantage of the situation.  Talking about acting through the UN to bring about peace in Syria is as good as advocating for doing nothing given the Russian veto on meaningful action.  What Corbyn should be asked is how far would he go to save many lives if there were no easy options?

Regards

Zachary Barker

Letter to the I: Nationalism

Patrick Cockburn's article discussing English nationalism asked some interesting questions.  I would say it is inaccurate to state that the political left don't really like nationalism since our country is home to three notably left leaning nationalist parties; Sinn Fein, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru.  These parties follow the 18th century concept of nationalism as a progressive movement calling for the building of a better future rather than for the return of a legendary past.  The main roadblock we face to this noble concept is that this country is fixated on the past to the point of obsession.

Regards

Zachary Barker

Letter to the I: Prince Philip Letter

I am very grateful to this newspaper for being courageous enough in it's journalistic integrity to devote a whole 3 paragraphs of critical coverage about Prince Philip's retirement.  To balance it out it was accompanied by nearly four pages of coverage taking the opposite stance, and even hailed Prince Philip as a conservationist, despite his history of posing with endangered species he has shot as trophies.  This coverage proves that the cult of self censorship in reporting on the British Royal Family is still disturbingly alive within the British media.

Regards

Zachary Barker

Bristol

Letter to the I: Theresa May Letter

I am not impressed with PM Theresa May's boast that she can be a "bloody difficult woman" and likely nor are her European negotiating partners.  Both her and Boris have played the heated rhetoric game to little effect.  Instead she could try to outflank her opponents by emphasising the case for a clan break that allows for the continuity of cooperation on mutually beneficial matters.  This wisdom comes from the alien ultra-capitalist civilisation from Star Trek; the Ferengi Alliance.  Number 76 of their Rules of Acquisition state "Every once in a while, declare peace.  It confuses the hell out of your enemies".

Regards

Zachary Barker

Letter to the I: Anti Islamic State Fighters

I was outraged to hear that the government has decided to prosecute the British anti-Islamic State fighter Josh Walker under counter-terrorism laws.  What outrages me more is how some British public commentators backs how the government has been treating him, claiming that he is just as bad an Islamic State fighter.  Josh went to Syria to help the Kurds fight to protect their lives and their freedom.  Islamic State fighters fight only to take away the lives and the freedoms of those who do not fit into their world view.  We should be supporting those who risk their lives in the cause of freedom, instead of arresting them.  Mr Walker deserves a medal, not a cell.

Regards

Zac Barker

Letter to the I: Macron Letter

Ian Birrell's article comparing French Presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron with the UK Labour Party provided much food for thought.  Corbyn's Labour Party has a worrying parallel to the French Front National by presenting a mostly negative view of globalisation.  Tony Blair had the right idea in emphasising the overwhelming net benefits in embracing a globalised economy while using the state to empower people enough to deal with its challenges.  Corbyn's attention meanwhile focuses too much on Labour interest groups such as jobs in industry and public sector workers, while Theresa May largely ignores either sectors.  The future lies in a vision that sees the big picture of the British economy though the eyes of all workers and not just interest groups.

Regards

Zac Barker