Do we really understand our adversaries?

Having read one of the Telegraph’s articles, the ones that are sent called Top Stories on mobiles, named ‘Putin will soon turn his war machine on Britain’, I wasn’t sure whether to start packing my belongings or laugh uproariously. It was attributed to Ben Wallace , a former Secretary for Defence, so it must be taken seriously. Looking at the article at first one can easily dismiss it as a bit of fanciful drivel, much like loads of other ‘Telling you what is going to happen’ stuff. Obviously most does not, will not happen or are just fancy personal emanations of deep-seated fear of the unknown. Whatever, I wouldn’t think someone like Sir Ben would succumb to such fear. So, I read the article again and picked up the psychological slant on meetings with people who have had little discourse or meetings with opponents in foreign climes. People like Gerasimov, Shoigu for instance. What I picked up was the insular thinking by the Russian leadership. But these are the people who decide or rather advise Putin, who incidentally has the same mindset, about how to deal with their ‘mostly imagined’ adversaries. In that light one can easily understand the present situation. However, the article also highlighted the feeling towards Britain. The opinion that Britain is the nation that has started most of the problems that have occurred, past and present. The Crimean War of the 1850’s, and so on. Even the rise of Hitler is our fault. Now whether all that is true or based on hard evidence I’m not sure, nevertheless it is the reality on the ground. Deranged ideas and opinions like these have led to war many times in the past and situations like these are no different.

I have to agree with Sir Ben, that it would be absolutely necessary to have people here looking at these type of psychological situations that occur with relations. Driven by hatred caused by preconceived ideas one can easily, if in power, press any ‘red’ buttons available. But today things are more ‘hidden’. We can see this today with the poisoning of the Skripal's in Britain by subversive Russian agents. It seems here in Britain we are incredibly lax in understanding the mindsets of other nations and people. Looking at our present and recent governments the Labour ones in particular, are blind to foreign interference, possible or already happening. They have little idea or no idea at all how other people, foreigners, think! WE are still driven by some idea of world greatness, imperialistic ideas, historical worth and more whilst in reality we have nothing left. We are, sorry to say, no more than a very small island, messing about with grandiose ideas like liberal multiculturalism and more. And cannot get it to work. Why? Because we still do not understand the mindset of ordinary people. The people who have to work hard to put a loaf of bread on the table and provide for a safe abode for their children. The London liberal wokies, especially those in Parliament tend to come from the more affluent side of life. Possibly educated in Oxford with a set of social ideas no-one else has ever heard of. We simply have exchanged our leaders that once came from the aristocratic set of society to a woke set of liberal know-all graduates who are completely devoid of common sense.

This is what I got out of Sir Ben’s article. No wonder he resigned. He won’t say but I am just as disgusted as I think he is or was. Well, Sir Keir is in Berlin today thinking he might change bits about Brexit. Well, again he completely misunderstands the mindset of the European hierarchy. The underlying idea of the EU is simply still the same as it was all those years ago, ONE state! The idea is a wobbly one for sure but alive. The French and Germans have already formed a close relationship which does no favours to the UK.

It is all about being able to understand the thinking of your adversary or opponent. Yes, it is not a game but deadly serious as the present world situation shows.