Britain's top soldier says al-Qaeda cannot be beaten

The new head of Britain's armed forces, Gen Sir David Richards, has warned that the West cannot defeat al-Qaeda and militant Islam.

General Sir David Richards, new head of Britain's armed forces, said the threat posed by 'al-Qaeda and its affiliates' meant Britain's national security would be at risk for at least 30 years.
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
9:30PM GMT 13 Nov 2010

He said defeating Islamist militancy was "unnecessary and would never be achieved".

However, he argued that it could be "contained" to allow Britons to lead secure lives.

Gen Richards, 58, said the threat posed by "al-Qaeda and its affiliates" meant Britain's national security would be at risk for at least 30 years.

The general, who will tomorrow lay a wreath at the Cenotaph in Whitehall in memory of Britain's war dead, said the West's war against what he described as a "pernicious ideology" had parallels with the fight against Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

(More here.)