Lord Steiner's address to the House of Lords

[Victor Steiner]

On the subject of the defence of the realm and the Military, Lord Edmund Steiner of Warwickshire.

Lord Speaker, My Lords, as we all know the Realm is weakened and vulnerable. Many millions of our people lie dead and many more still suffer the horrors of the recent conflict without homes, adequate housing, jobs or the bare essentials like food and access to medicine. This, alas, is likely to be the state of affairs for many more years to come and while we take the chance to recover, rebuild and remember we must be aware that we are not the strength we once were, true enough in time we may very well become stronger, but for now at least we are weaker.

Thus I must express my surprise at the most recent announcement made by the Admiralty board on the 26th of this month regarding the Orkney system which not only states that a 'peacekeeping mission' will be sent into the Orkney system but also states the delivery of an ultimatum. My Lords, I do not believe this to be a mistake on the part of the First Sea Lord but an intentional statement. The question I must ask is; when did the military have the authority to issue ultimatums without deference to the Government and Her Majesty? Furthermore an expedition of any significant strength advancing into the Taus would not only be a outrageously expensive endeavor, an endeavor we cannot afford but a dangerous one at that. Need I remind the House of the disaster that happened in the Vespucci system?

What concerns me is that the First Sea Lord has decided, perhaps against better judgment, to deploy a large number of troops to a far flung region of the Taus where we possess little influence for a goal that seems hardly worth the effort and all the while leaving Bretonia without sorely needed men and materials. This does not even take into account the possible Gallic reaction, a military expedition so close to their borders will not go unnoticed and perhaps more worryingly, unanswered. We cannot afford another conflict, saber-rattling and arbitrary deployments are the stuff of poem and song, but they will have very real consequences. I therefore propose that this House issues an immediate rescinding of the recent admiralty order and a review of First Sea Lord Sommerville's actions be undertaken.

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