The Wog You Save May Be Your Own

Britain's Head Boy has had a bit of a simper about sending troops to Africa. Assuming this isn't another jolly jape along the lines of his pledges to the British public about managing the economy and saving the NHS, the troops will be used to train African Union peace-keepers in Somalia and South Sudan, and will not be involved in combat operations unless it can be done in an appropriately sneaky and underhanded way.

Naturally, Britain's Head Boy made little or no pretence of being interested in peace for its own sake: Daveybloke wants Somalia to quieten down because "it’s good for Britain, it means less terrorism, less migration, less piracy; ditto South Sudan." The relegation of some twelve million people to a ditto is almost as delightful as the lumping-in of refugees with terrorists and pirates; and given the marvellous fist which Daveybloke and his chums made of saving Libya from itself, the whole of north-eastern Africa (ditto the British Conservative Party) is no doubt simply agog with anticipation.