What is the purpose of Britain starting another cold war?

[kwicky]

Just when you think relations between Russia and Britain are amicable with both sides about to gain enormous financial interests someone in the foreign office decides to break up the party. Why?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6 790051,00.html

[Loosehead]

who started it? err I seem to remember a murder using Polonium I don't think it was us.

[johnlambert]

I don't think someone at the foreign office decided to pick a diplomatic fight with the russians, as loosehied states, there is the small matter of a russian citizen murdering a British citizen on British soil then scuttling back to moscow and the russian authorities refusing to send him to the UK to stand trial

[Gromit]

Maybe it is because we are cr@p at fighting real wars. Suffer fatalities, kill innocent civilians, get amourments destroyed, waste a lot of money etc.

At least with a Cold War it is largely hot air which is exchanged. A virtual war.

[Hugh Spencer]

Hi Gromit,
I must reply. The decision of any country to go to war with another relies on the type of government in power. The cost must be weighed against the legitimacy of the war and despite the outcries from various sections of society, you will always have civilian casualities but that does not excuse bad management and lack of skill of the forces concerned. I think this country acquitted itself very well 1939-45, that is, WW2.
As for Putin it appears that he has backtracked in his initial plans to develop democracy still further, which many many Russians were expecting. He has been a hard, ruthless man in the past.

[Goodsoulette]

I think it's scary stuff. Wasn't another bloke targeted for assassination here just last week?

[Gromit]

This might scare you even more...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml =/news/2007/07/19/wrussia419.xml

[johnlambert]

Gromit
I wouldn't worry too much about that mate the russians have been doing that every year on a regular basis since the 1950's, we do the same to them, it's just to test their reaction time

[Hugh Spencer]

Used to be commonplace in the past but unsurprising in the current situation. Good to know that the RAF, the best in the world, is maintaining a watch for such things.

[kwicky]

Even the yanks say we have gone over the top by expelling 4 diplomats. This murder is a polce matter and should not have escalated like it has. If we cannot learn from history maybe it shows the people in the foreign office are too young to understand where this might lead. Like wars, disputes like this are easy to get into but one hell of a job to extricate yourself without losing face. If it was the intention to distract us from entering blindly into the Iraq war it has failed miserably. Blair with all his faults would not have handled it this way. Soon we will all be wishing he returned to sort out the mess!

[MrBen5]

Hmmm, i think we are doing everything right in this.
Its about time England started to show their strength on things like this and maybe other countries will notice that we are a strong nation who will not bow down or tolerate anything against our citezens...

[MrBen5]

*anything untoward against our citezens*

[Gromit]

Short memory kwicky

It was on Blair's watch the the request for Lugovoi's extradition was called for.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6698545.stm

The rest that has followed was playing out the inevitable. Maybe Blair did it knowing that Brown would be left with the difficult choices and not him.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question32 8850.html

I posted this question back in November 2006. The present situation between Britain and Russia, is just what I was warning of back then.

[Gromit]

They never listen to us AOG

And the Russians expell 4 of ours...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6906481 .stm

[johnlambert]

t1t for tat expulsions
welcome back to the Cold War, right, I'm going back in the Army, who's coming with me?

[anotheoldgit]

Oh dear Gromit, peacemaker Tone is going to be a little stretched he's already took the Middle East job on, after sorting out Ireland.

If he can't afford the time to come between the UK and Russia, who is there left to do the job?

This is the result of us being governed by younsters barely out of university who have never donned a uniform.

[johnlambert]

When did YOU last don a uniform oldgit?