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Posted on 02/20/2026 6:41:26 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Senior military figures last night urged Sir Keir Starmer to put national security first and let Donald Trump use British bases for an attack on Iran.
Downing Street has refused the US permission to launch air strikes from bases in the UK and overseas.
That message was reiterated by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper last night when she met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington D.C. She told her counterpart that Britain favoured ‘diplomatic and economic pressure’ on Iran.
With Tehran saying it will have a nuclear deal draft ready in a few days, former top brass last night joined the Conservative Party in criticising the Government’s view after Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge said Iran’s nuclear programme ‘poses a grave threat to Britain and our allies’.
Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a retired Royal Navy officer, said: ‘At a time when our US ally needs to be reassured of Britain’s staunch opposition to brutal regimes and about its access to the Chagos Islands and [UK-US military base] Diego Garcia, our Government is proving unreliable and weak.’
Former Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe said: ‘We absolutely should let the US use UK bases in launching targeted strikes against Iran. It would be madness not to. The Americans can use Diego Garcia anyway, as it is a joint base, but we should be actively supporting.’
President Trump was particularly keen to use RAF Fairford in Suffolk and Diego Garcia, the British overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, to ‘eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime’ in Tehran.
But following a diplomatic tit-for-tat over the future of the Chagos Islands, which includes Diego Garcia, the Prime Minister has blocked US plans.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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Look?
GB is way beyond “Look”.
Trump should Venezuela Starmer and GB.
[For the children...]
p
Finally! ….someone with sense is challenging Obama PUPPET Starmer who’s acting like he’s got TDS.
We took the best part of British North America from the British Empire already, why not Diego Garcia? Plus the rest of British North America later.
Trump should put out a statement that says the US is pulling out of all UK bases as they are not guaranteed to be available at all times of need. Let the UK pay for their own defense. Then put out a statement as to why the USA needs Greenland for the defense of the USA as our partners are unreliable. Let Europe put the pressure on UK for their bonehead move.
Why isn’t bombing London on tap?
Starter must have consulted his moozlum better about strategy.
Starmer......
“Now’s not the time to go wobbly.” —Margaret Thatcher
Keir “The Steamer” is too busy servicing Paki grooming gangs....
Starman is a Weasel
Steamer....
The US has an absolute right to use the Diego Garcia base without even notifying the UK, much less asking for Starmer’s permission.
Because it is.
‘He’s making Britain look unreliable and weak
Well the shoe fits doesn’t it.
“We took the best part of British North America from the British Empire already, “
You know, I was wondering why the Brits weren’t more ticked off and didn’t try to reconquer after Napoleon was defeated in 1815.
The reason I researched is that in the late 1700s to early 1800s, the Caribbean possessions were far more profitable than the East Coast of North America.
For instance, in 1776, Jamaica alone—Britain’s largest Caribbean colony—was estimated to be more valuable than all 13 rebelling American colonies combined, thanks to its dominance in sugar production, which accounted for a significant portion of Britain’s colonial wealth. Sugar estates in Jamaica generated extraordinary profits; by the 1770s, the colony’s annual output was worth around £2-3 million (equivalent to billions today), dwarfing the mainland’s exports of tobacco, rice, and timber.
In fact, the British even contemplated withdrawing troops from the American Revolutionary War to better defend their Caribbean holdings, as these islands produced sugar, rum, etc., all highly lucrative commodities that fueled Britain’s economy and funded its wars.
Post-Napoleonic reconquest wasn’t pursued because Britain was war-weary after over two decades of conflict in Europe, and the American territory was vast, sparsely populated, and costly to occupy—estimated to require tens of thousands of troops and massive naval support, with little economic upside compared to expanding empires in India and elsewhere.
Here are the books I recommend:
1. Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams : this argues that profits from Caribbean slave plantations (especially sugar) financed the Industrial Revolution in Britain, making those colonies far more vital than the American ones. Williams uses trade figures to show how sugar wealth overshadowed mainland exports.
2. An Empire Divided: The American Revolution and the British Caribbean by Andrew O’Shaughnessy : Explores how the Caribbean’s profitability influenced Britain’s response to the Revolution, including why they prioritized defending islands like Jamaica over reconquest efforts. Includes economic comparisons and archival records.
3. The Plantation Machine: Atlantic Capitalism in French Saint-Domingue and British Jamaica by Trevor Burnard and John Garrigus : Compares British Jamaica’s sugar economy to French counterparts, highlighting its immense wealth (e.g., welfare ratios for estate owners at 247 times subsistence levels) and why it outpaced North American colonies in value.
4. Ordinary Lives in the Early Caribbean: Religion, Colonial Competition, and the Politics of Profit by Kristen Block : Examines the profit-driven dynamics of British Caribbean colonies, showing how sugar and rum trade created fortunes that made mainland losses palatable.
What started me off were some episodes from the podcast “Empire” that I highly, HIGHLY recommend:
They had an entire series on slavery, from ancient times to modern. Episode 48 started me down this rabbit hole if books. Fascinating stuff
“Downing Street has refused the US permission to launch air strikes from bases in the UK and overseas.”
Not as long as there is an estimated 6.5 million muslims in the UK.
wy69
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