New £4bn Aircraft Carriers 'At Expense Of Troop Budgets'

USS John C Stennis and the HMS Invincible
(From The Telegraph)

Defence chiefs have faced criticism over a decision to spend £4bn on two new aircraft carriers at a time when troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are severely overstretched.

The deal for the vessels, the first of which, Queen Elizabeth, is due into operation in 2014, was signed onboard in Portsmouth on Thursday.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said it represented "a historic day" for the military and would ensure Britain maintained its "world-class capabilities".

But critics say the project comes at the expense of hard-pressed troops fighting a war on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Read more ....

More News On The U.K. Navy:
UK government signs aircraft carrier contracts worth 3 bln pounds -- Forbes
MoD signs $3bln of contracts for aircraft carriers -- AFP
Giant aircraft carriers to be built -- The Guardian
Carrier jobs joy but is cost too high? -- The Scotsman
Biggest ships ever built for Royal Navy -- Portsmouth
FACTBOX-Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers -- Reuters

My Comment: Spend the money on the war that you are fighting now .... not the war that you may fight a decade later. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has realized this, firing the U.S. Air Force chiefs when soldiers in the field started to complain that the U.S. Air Force were not delivering the support that they needed.

Its great to have dozens of F-22 fighter jets, but they are totally useless fighting the war that U.S. forces are fighting now. The U.S. brass now realize that .... the U.K. brass have a different point of view.

My gut tells me that British soldiers in the mountains of Afghanistan are feeling left out right now.