SECRET STATE: The statue of David Stirling, founder of the SAS, looks over mist around Ben Ledi mountain, Central ScotlandAs the government quietly upgrades the role of Britain’s special forces, their growing global footprint and near-total exemption from democratic oversight should alarm us all, says ROGER McKENZIE
ONE of the least discussed parts of Britain’s Strategic Defence Review announced last June was the additional role that the government intends to give to the country’s special forces.
Talk of special forces is usually a no-no for most nations. So this was something new.
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The Special Forces are the only piece of Britain’s defence, security and intelligence apparatus not subject to any form of parliamentary oversight. I find this as astonishing as I do outrageous.
Although there is theoretically a parliamentary convention requiring the prime minister to consult Parliament before authorising the deployment of British forces, the special forces are exempted, making a nonsense of the whole thing.
Given the new upgraded future role that these forces are envisaged taking this is something that must be addressed.
We should continue to campaign to stop wars and to expose any wrongdoing that takes outside of what are considered to be the rules of war.
But we should also take notice of these elite special forces that largely operate outside any scrutiny.
We must also not fall for the propaganda that portrays these outfits as anything other than unaccountable guns for hire for which we foot the bill for.