The transnational elite is fully immersed in postmodernist ideology. There are no nations. Words bear no relation to the real world or to ordinary meanings. Elites seize power in the name of the oppressed. "Democracy" means rule by the credentialed elite. "Free speech" is repeating the orthodoxy or else.
You know the score. Up is down. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Big Brother is watching you.
In its spat with the United States, European countries are making loud noises about leaving NATO and striking out on their own, and as a major part of that is all the talk about upping their military game, despite the fact that almost the entirety of their aid for Ukraine is buying American weapons as they buy Russian oil and gas.
Starmer in particular is sounding bellicose, primping, preening, and posturing about leading a "coalition of the willing" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz (as soon as the United States does so), expanding the British military, and even talking about reinstating the draft.
Of course, that may not include the SAS, because the SAS is bleeding soldiers as their morale has plummeted.
🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨
— Tom Cotterill (@TomCotterillX) April 20, 2026
SAS soldiers are resigning in significant numbers over fears they will be subjected to “witch hunts” by human-rights lawyers.
Multiple sources have claimed that personnel from across 22 SAS, the Army’s most elite fighting force, have applied for premature…
🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨
SAS soldiers are resigning in significant numbers over fears they will be subjected to “witch hunts” by human-rights lawyers.
Multiple sources have claimed that personnel from across 22 SAS, the Army’s most elite fighting force, have applied for premature voluntary release.
The Telegraph is withholding the exact figure for security reasons. However, several SAS sources have described the recent losses as “significant” and a “threat to national security”.
At least two squadrons, D and G, are believed to have been affected, with insiders saying outrage over recent war crime probes into Afghanistan and Syria, which have been branded “witch hunts”, are believed to be the main driving forces.
Among those understood to have resigned include several senior warrant officers, who are the backbone of the special forces and among the most experienced troops in the regiment. A number are understood to have applied for release “on principle” just before Christmas.
“Morale is s--t at the moment,” one insider with knowledge of the recent losses told me, while another said there was “considerable disquiet” in the regiment as a result.
The SAS resignations are a major blow to the famed special forces unit, which is the tip of the spear in any military operation and is deployed globally.
It's impossible to overstate what a disaster this is, and how awful the British government's treatment of SAS soldiers has to be to drive people who spent their entire lives developing the will and the skill to become some of the very best special forces soldiers in the world. It is the equivalent of an Olympic athlete quitting sport in disgust at the IOC—giving up on your lifelong dreams.
Apparently, in the UK, as in Australia, there is a witch hunt going on to find "war criminals." Australia has just arrested its most decorated living soldier. The prosecutors traveled to Afghanistan and offered Australian residency to "witnesses" in exchange for their testimony. Unsurprisingly, a number took up the offer. And then the authorities made a very public arrest in front of the world and his family, instead of allowing him to turn himself in.
Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier, was arrested at Sydney Airport and charged with five counts of war-crime murder over the killing of unarmed Afghan civilians while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012 https://t.co/Hmxo47kS9N pic.twitter.com/xbFmENELPU
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 7, 2026
Gotta have that perp walk, you know.
PETER VAN ONSELEN: How the Ben Roberts-Smith case will tear Australia apart: 'A decorated soldier cast aside by timid elites and agenda-driven journalists' https://t.co/3ezP1EZRS7
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) April 8, 2026
Apparently, re-litigating actions in Afghanistan is now a thing in the Anglosphere, and SAS soldiers are quitting in disgust and concern that their split-second decisions made in the midst of war will haunt them as people who never served in combat decide their fate.
The treatment of elderly Northern Ireland veterans who served in the SAS has also contributed, insiders say. They are viewed as having been hounded through the courts on vexatious claims, some of which have been described as “ludicrous” by a judge.
Among those understood to have resigned are several senior warrant officers, who are the backbone of the special forces and among the most experienced troops in the regiment. A number are understood to have applied for release “on principle” just before Christmas.
“Morale is s--- at the moment,” one insider with knowledge of the recent losses said, while another said there was “considerable disquiet” in the regiment as a result.
Scrutiny on Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer is under immense pressure to boost the military after Donald Trump’s attack on Iran showed how ill-prepared Britain was for war.
It took three weeks for HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, to arrive in the eastern Mediterranean after RAF Akrotiri, a British air base in Cyprus, was hit by a drone.
Sir Keir has failed to say how the Government will meet its pledge to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence, and his defence investment plan for military spending over the next decade – promised last autumn – has still not been published amid wrangling between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Treasury.
The SAS resignations are a significant blow to the famed special forces unit, which is the tip of the spear in military operation and is deployed globally.
Last month it was revealed that 242 special forces troops, including 120 serving troops, were being hounded by lawyers as part of £1m-a-month human rights inquiries.
One doesn't "discover" war crimes years after the fact, particularly with special forces troops, who are highly specialized, put into the most dangerous situations that often require quick decisions and extraordinary violence to achieve their mission. And especially when the line between civilian and combatant is...blurry, to say the least.
Terrorists don't wear uniforms. Suicide bombers don't advertise before they blow themselves up.
Starmer’s military advisers accuse him of ‘corrosive complacency’ https://t.co/ybeh3ceVd5
— Sage Despatches (@SageDespatches) April 14, 2026
Tossing out the professional soldiers and replacing them with draftees is, of course, one of the dumbest moves a country can make. But then again, we are talking about Keir Starmer and the left.
It feels like a betrayal’
George Simm, a former regimental sergeant major of 22 SAS, said troops were afraid they would “get a knock on the door” from lawyers and felt they had been betrayed.
He said laws such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) were being applied to war zones and that the right to life for “armed terrorists and murderers” now outweighed that of the special forces troops sent to stop them from committing atrocities.
“If a soldier discharges their weapon, they are almost certainly going to get a knock at their door one day,” he told The Telegraph. “It feels like a betrayal and a break in the trust.
“We now have to consider the lives of the terrorists because of the ECHR. These are the guys who are shooting at us. We have all killed mass murderers and these lawyers say you should have done this and should have done that. It’s a joke.
“There is a dangerous dichotomy that has crept into the command and come all the way down the chain of command and now the lawyers are all over it.”
Countries that cannot deploy ships or soldiers are turning on their militaries as they claim to prepare for war.
It's another example of how unserious these people are. They believe their own fantasies and trust the technocracy over people who actually have to do hard things.
This soldier's face says it all 🤦🏼♂️
— Brunte 🏴🇬🇧 (@Brunte84) April 9, 2026
Keir Starmer: "I've got a bold new defence plan!"
Soldier: "Not this clown again..."The man who wanted to scrap Trident turning up for a photo-op.
Army morale: lower than Starmer’s poll ratings 🤣 pic.twitter.com/DKwy4LdfMk
Sure, if soldiers were picking off civilians for fun, it would be a war crime. But the idea that 240 SAS soldiers were wantonly murdering civilians is absurd.
I really don't see the point of allying with these people. They are suicidal.
Editor's note: If we thought our job in pushing back against the Academia/media/Democrat censorship complex was over with the election, think again. This is going to be a long fight. If you want to join the conversation in the comments -- and support independent platforms -- why not join our VIP Membership program? Choose VIP to support Hot Air and access our premium content, VIP Gold to extend your access to all Townhall Media platforms and participate in this show, or VIP Platinum to get access to even more content and discounts on merchandise. Use the promo code FIGHT to join or to upgrade your existing membership level today, and get 60% off!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member