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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask if you think ben wallace has done a bad job?

730 replies

Needapoodle · 27/08/2021 08:41

Loads of people on social media calling for Ben's (defence secretary) resignation over pen farthing and his operation ark.

I think ben and his department have suddenly been thrust into a highly volatile and constantly changing dangerous situation in which he has to make decisions for the good of the most amount of people possible. I also think that the insistence on evacuating hundreds of animals will undoubtedly have taken resources away from getting people out of Afghanistan and prevented human lives from being saved. I don't think that calling for ben's resignation over some animals not being able to be evacuated is reasonable at all. Or have i missed something?

OP posts:
notimagain · 28/08/2021 23:19

@DogsAreImpawtant

You do realise that Ben Wallace served in the military himself?

Yes. Which is why he would have known that Pen would not leave his staff whilst there was still a chance of getting them out.

So one minute you are saying Pen would stay with his staff, now it’s a conditional stay with his staff.

Mr Wallace was consistent throughout this and I’m sure Mr Farthing, being an ex-serviceman and knowing how the military work, would have had a fair idea how this would play out.

I’ll accept Mr Farthing tried his best and stuck his neck out for his team…realistically he handled it about well as he could given the circumstances but I (and I know many others) really don’t think his continually playing up his Forces background was the smartest thing to do…..

ChicChaos · 28/08/2021 23:21

@DogsAreImpawtant

Dogs, I probably read exactly the same news sources as you do this is all verified information.

No. People proved you wrong on the last thread. I wish it would be open again as I really can’t be arsed to repeat it all.

The government have made lots of mistakes and are now looking to make Pen a scape goat. I think most people will see that Pen isn’t responsible for all this, how could he be, he isn’t in power. That will be Johnson, Raab, Wallace and co.

First thread is still up, so you can check on that without having to repeat any of it. I don't recall any of Janiie's posts being deleted and she's still using the same username, it's not one that only has posts from today so it would be really easy to do.

Pen isn't being made a scapegoat and there is no conspiracy against him.

HeddaGarbled · 28/08/2021 23:22

Pen chose to stay will his staff

Until he didn’t.

Flaxmeadow · 28/08/2021 23:23

No he left them ultimately so basically all the harassment and abuse and time wasting was for nothing - oh no it wasn't as he got the animals out and that was basically what it was all about.

Yes, Pen Farthing, what an irritating name, is a obsessed with dogs. Dogs are all he is bothered about, dogs, dogs, dogs and when he doesn't get his own way, regarding his dogs, he becomes aggressive and threatening. As has already been said, he's a bully

DogsAreImpawtant · 28/08/2021 23:25

First thread is still up, so you can check on that without having to repeat any of it.

I’m talking about thread number 2. As soon as loads of people started questioning her posts not being deleted, it got shut down. 🤔

Theluggage15 · 28/08/2021 23:27

Farthing is an attention seeking, nasty twat. The fact he was wasting one moment of people’s time faffing about with animals when there were people desperate to get out is appalling. For all the heroic crap about not leaving his staff, he did didn’t he? Anyone thinking he’s a great guy needs their head testing. But people obsessed by animals are always weirdos.

As for, ‘there are more flights available’ what do you think it is? Fucking Gatwick.

XenoBitch · 28/08/2021 23:27

@HeddaGarbled

Pen chose to stay will his staff

Until he didn’t.

He couldn't. He had the pass out of there and his staff didn't. Not his fault.
TooOldandTired · 28/08/2021 23:28

@XenoBitch of course he could have stayed, no-one made him leave.

DogsAreImpawtant · 28/08/2021 23:29

Pen isn't being made a scapegoat and there is no conspiracy against him.

Lol. There absolutely is. But the Tories can’t win this one. It’s hardly a surprise that Pen and Nowzad have more supporters WORLDWIDE than Boris and co. They really can’t win this one. For every comment on twitter against Pen, there’s hundreds shooting it down.

TooOldandTired · 28/08/2021 23:30

@DogsAreImpawtant

Pen isn't being made a scapegoat and there is no conspiracy against him.

Lol. There absolutely is. But the Tories can’t win this one. It’s hardly a surprise that Pen and Nowzad have more supporters WORLDWIDE than Boris and co. They really can’t win this one. For every comment on twitter against Pen, there’s hundreds shooting it down.

Twitter is not the real world, as evidenced by the Tory landslide in the last election.
XenoBitch · 28/08/2021 23:30

[quote TooOldandTired]@XenoBitch of course he could have stayed, no-one made him leave.[/quote]
Staying there would have put his whole team in more danger. They discussed it together and agreed he should leave with animals he could take.

Theluggage15 · 28/08/2021 23:31

Just listened to his rant, who the fuck does he think he is? What an absolute arsehole.

DogsAreImpawtant · 28/08/2021 23:31

They’ve all truly descended on this thread now. Desperate cos they know they’re losing. It would be funny if there wasn’t a crisis at the centre of all this.

snowballer · 28/08/2021 23:31

Notable that the audio tape was leaked to the Sunday Times right at the point his flight left, leaving hours to really whip up the storm in which he won't be able to defend himself.

SueSaid · 28/08/2021 23:32

'It would be interesting to know how many of the animals he transported back, instead of his staff who could have left a few days earlier without them on a military flight as they had their papers and the rules hadn't changed then, were ones directly involved in active duty'

I'll be accused of lying again but I don't believe any animal was involved in active duty, didnt they all return in 2014 when fighting forces were withdrawn and only coalition remained? I skimmed Nowzad's page it seems stray animals may have been befriended by military personnel but they weren't 'service animals'. Happy to be corrected, I'm only going on Nowzad's site info. What about the cats what possible service were they carrying out I wonder.

'As soon as loads of people started questioning her posts not being deleted, it got shut down'

Dogs! Not true. As soon as people kept flinging abuse about it got taken down. Do you think I'm mnhq pet or something? Believe me I'm not, I do get deleted for my sometimes overly abrasive wit.

Thanks @ChicChaos I do find the 'liar' accusations a bit 🙄.

snowballer · 28/08/2021 23:33

@Theluggage15

Just listened to his rant, who the fuck does he think he is? What an absolute arsehole.
Yeah - people should be more polite when they have the lives of other people in their hands, and the Taliban are next door. Like Ben Wallace. Oh hang on, he couldn't even manage not to swear in an interview while sitting in his safe office.
TooOldandTired · 28/08/2021 23:33

@DogsAreImpawtant

They’ve all truly descended on this thread now. Desperate cos they know they’re losing. It would be funny if there wasn’t a crisis at the centre of all this.
Losing - are you fucking serious? People will lose their lives because they didn't get out but never mind the fucking cats and dogs did.
DogsAreImpawtant · 28/08/2021 23:33

Twitter is not the real world, as evidenced by the Tory landslide in the last election

People all around the world can’t vote in a UK election. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Pen has support globally. Boris and his muppets, not so much. They won’t win.

Potatwoah · 28/08/2021 23:34

Twitter, generally, is a cesspit. That relates to most topics. I absolutely see why people support pen, but i don't think it's universally representative, especially if you dig deep and find tweets from people with family left in Afghanistan, or those from that part of the world who have been watching on in fascination that swathes of the western world are championing a bloke and his dogs safe return above people. To note, a lot on twitter mention just his animals, some with the staff as a secondary element, so I don't believe a lot of the support is about his staff, otherwise why do other professional women who have awareness campaigns raised for them have hardly any engagement? And why the big won't people think of the service animals (that are largely not ex service animals anymore). To caveat before anyone says, yes I know he had his own plane, yes I know the animals were in the hold, and yes I do agree it's the government's fault and not his that people have been left.

TooOldandTired · 28/08/2021 23:36

@DogsAreImpawtant you seem a bit obsessed with winning. What does winning mean in this context? You got what you wanted, the animals will be fine, what else did you want to win?

Theluggage15 · 28/08/2021 23:36

Lots of people had the lives of others in their hands, this silly swooning hero worship of him is rather pathetic.

SueSaid · 28/08/2021 23:37

'Twitter is not the real world, as evidenced by the Tory landslide in the last election.'

Thank god. Even now days later supporters wanging about 'the hold!' Ignoring the logistics of getting 200 animals into said hold and how no one else could take belongings but Farthing had 3 truck loads.

DogsAreImpawtant · 28/08/2021 23:38

People will lose their lives because they didn't get out but never mind the fucking cats and dogs did.

People will lose their lives because our government didn’t act quickly enough and cos Biden messed up this whole situation, not because of a charity worker.

And Boris and co will now be more worried about repairing their damaged reputation than the people in Afghanistan. Did you see his visit with Raab to the Afghan crisis centre. If you believe those are the actions, questions and behaviours of people who care about people dying in Afghanistan, you are deluded.

fourminutestosavetheworld · 28/08/2021 23:39

"I’m talking about thread number 2. As soon as loads of people started questioning her posts not being deleted, it got shut down."

No, be fair, that isn't true at all.

Just read a heartbreaking tweet asking why Brits equate Afghans to cats and dogs. Is this how the world sees us now?

His call is horrific. It is not the swearing of a desperate man. He is threatening to destroy someone on national tv, abhorrent.

snowballer · 28/08/2021 23:39

@Theluggage15

Lots of people had the lives of others in their hands, this silly swooning hero worship of him is rather pathetic.
It's not swooning worship on my part. I just wish people would see how this plays so perfectly into the hands of the government. The longer that the outrage over pets stays in the headlines, the longer they can deflect the real responsibility for people being left to die away from them. It's such basic spin, and you're all falling hook line and sinker for it.