YP Letters: Dragged into world war by treaty with Europe

David Cameron has been accused to being disrepsectful to the families of soldiers buried in cemeteries across Europe.

I FIND it astonishing that the Prime Minister would seek to link the vast cemeteries of our Great War dead with the notion of British regret at having at times been insufficiently involved in the politics of Europe.

Far from being detached in 1914, we were ensnared into war by our secret contingency planning with France and by a treaty intended to maintain Belgian neutrality.

Our commitment arguably emboldened France and Russia to escalate the conflict. It might otherwise have remained a matter of Austro-Hungary responding to an act of state-sponsored terrorism, with the same justification as used for American and British action in Afghanistan.

The war bled away the lives of our young men, as well as the accumulated commercial wealth of the nation, destroying Britain as a great power. It was a war better lost in 1914 than won in 1918. Recognition of stalemate would have been a better outcome for all than the triumph of one side.

The Government has stage-managed the centenary commemorations to exclude any criticism of its predecessor.

But this new attempt to exploit history needs to be challenged if we are to avoid repeating its tragedies.