Chapter 1270 Turmoil Caused by Pension
Soon, the British police arrested 24 suspects in the UK based on clues.
What broke the British defense was that the 24 suspects arrested included Middle Easterners, blacks, and even white people, who were native British.
And these native British people were all family members of soldiers who died in Afghanistan or Iraq.
According to the Times, these people's husbands and children died in Afghanistan or Iraq, but they could not get pensions, which made them dissatisfied and resentful of the British and American governments and joined extremists.
This news immediately caused an uproar.
According to the announcement of the British Ministry of Defense, the British government will assume the obligation to pay pensions to all disabled soldiers. Previously, the British Ministry of Defense had raised the maximum limit of the one-time pension for disabled soldiers from 152,150 pounds to 285,000 pounds.
This move was to encourage the British army to fight bravely and not fear war.
But now it has broken out that the families of the sacrificed soldiers cannot get pensions and the scandal of pensions being embezzled has broken out.
As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused an uproar.
The British standards for pensions for disabled soldiers and dead soldiers are much lower than those in the United States, which makes soldiers and their families quite dissatisfied. Now that such news has been reported, it is even more unsatisfactory.
Ordinary British people not only do not hate these British people who participate in extremist organizations, but are full of sympathy for them.
The current government has been constantly approved in large numbers.
The angry crowd surrounded Downing Street and demanded an explanation from the government.
For example, there was a soldier who participated in the protest. This retired soldier lost both legs because of a landmine in the battlefield in Afghanistan last September. He was seriously injured in the head, elbows, nose and jaw, and more than 30 other injured parts.
However, according to the disability pension standards, he can only receive a pension of 152,150 pounds for the loss of both legs and serious injuries to the head and elbows, and no pension for injuries to other parts.
This made the soldier and other family members very dissatisfied, because the pension of 152,150 pounds is far from meeting their future living needs. This time they demanded to raise the standard of disability pension and get more compensation.
This time, many relatives whose relatives died in Afghanistan and Iraq but have not received pensions so far are extremely angry. They denounced the government for ruining their relatives' lives but embezzling pensions.
Britain participated in the war in Afghanistan and made great sacrifices, but did not benefit at all in Afghanistan.
After all, it is the United States that needs Afghanistan, a strategic place, to maintain world hegemony, not Britain.
As for the decline of British hegemony, the British recognized the reality as early as the Falklands War, and there was no way to be unwilling.
If the United States and the Soviet Union dismembered the British and French global colonial system and forced Britain and France to give up the Suez Canal, the British were still not very willing and had some small thoughts, then in the Falklands War, suffering such a huge loss, the British completely recognized the reality.
Although the British won the Falklands War, they suffered greater losses. Most countries in the world no longer have awe for the British.
The Commonwealth is actually dead in name only.
Since the 1980s, Britain has implemented a strategy of bundling with the United States, deeply bundling with the United States, so as to maintain its status as a great power and get a share of the world's resource pie with the United States.
Now the biggest pillar of London finance is to turn gray money from all over the world into white, and earn commissions in the process.
London's housing prices and consumption are maintained by attracting wealthy people to buy castles and mansions.
The five permanent members of the Security Council have officially appeared since the 1990s, and this statement has been widely accepted.
Many people who aspire to become permanent members want to replace Britain and France.
This incident has caused greater unrest, that is, the British people demanded that the British army withdraw from the battlefield in Afghanistan.
If the British obtained oil fields second only to the United States in the Iraq War, then in the battlefield in Afghanistan, it is completely unprofitable and a pure loss-making business.
More importantly, the British army suffered heavy casualties in the Afghan battlefield.
The United States is highly concerned about what happened in the UK.
The UK is the most important ally of the United States, and its status is far higher than that of other allies. The so-called Japan and South Korea are far less important than the UK.
The United States can maintain a strong influence on Europe through the UK. At the very least, even if the United States is squeezed out of Europe one day, the United States can rely on the UK to exert influence on Europe.
Besides, in all previous wars, the UK has stood firmly on the side of the United States.
The United States absolutely cannot accept a major change in the UK's position.
At this time, the United States feels a little powerless. The North Korean nuclear issue, the Iranian nuclear issue, the Palestinian-Israeli issue, the Latin American issue, the African issue, the Afghanistan war, the Iraq war, the EU and Russia are getting closer, and now such a big thing has happened in the UK.
This makes the United States exhausted.
George Walton used to think that the US military had expanded to nearly two million troops and massively increased military spending. The US military should be full of martial virtues, fight whoever it wants, be invincible, and the whole world should be polite to the United States.
But now, George Walton has discovered that this is not the case at all. The battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq are like two bottomless pits, and investing hundreds of billions of dollars every year seems not to be enough.
Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan are a strong defense line that has trapped Israel. Israel almost lost its country twice. It can be said that one move affects the whole body.
The joint forces still have about 500,000 troops in Iraq, but the Arab coalition has also deployed more than 300,000 troops around Iraq. Moreover, the remnant forces such as Saddam are still alive and cannot be killed.
The mountainous areas of Afghanistan have been unsuccessful despite the efforts of the US military. Although the US military has a large number of donkeys and mules, the guerrillas in the mountains of Afghanistan cannot be completely eliminated. One group will grow again after another.
South America turned left collectively, and strong men appeared one after another.
Chavez of Venezuela and Andrew of Colombia carried out drastic reforms in Venezuela and Colombia, nationalized many industries, and were very active in South America, even shouting out such treasonous words as "South America is the South America of South Americans".
Brazil, Argentina, and Peru are also seeing the left in power. Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia will probably turn left completely soon.
What makes the United States even more uncomfortable is that Cuba's foreign exchanges are becoming more and more frequent, which is simply driving Americans crazy.
Even now, many Americans go to Cuba specifically to treat their diseases, which is simply a great irony.
In the latest proposal about Cuba, most countries in the world voted in favor, and only the United States and Israel voted against it, and were beaten up and exported, with a dull face. (End of this chapter)