The Thin Red Line & Biometrics

Red Lines seem to be important in negotiations; Theresa May used them and the EU used them. The UK's Brexit negotiating team was fully aware of the EU's Red Lines, having been in the EU and knowing the basis of the EU's existence. 

The UK drew up its own Red Lines which totally ignored the Red Lines of the EU. However, unsurprisingly, none of them were crossed by those who owned them in an attempt to reach a consensus, as the Red Lines crossed each other.

Is it perhaps about time that NATO came up with some Red Lines of its own, making Putin and Russia fully aware of them, along with consequences. Red lines such as the use of chemical or biological weapons, the bombing any more civilian areas and a very severe Red Line for subsequent attacks on any NATO country, although I would think Putin is fully aware of the last one.

It may even be time for one of the NATO members engage in some psychological brinkmanship and  to accidentally, on purpose, go full Bodmin, articulating incoherent and aggressive threats to Putin, possibly threatening to nuke the Kremlin unless Russia got out of Ukraine. The other members can then play the part of his concerned mates who are struggling to hold back the raging mad member, maintaining they can only hold the mad one back for so long. The mad one would have to be the most powerful NATO member - America - but I doubt Biden could be convincing in this role play.

I fear, however, that Ukraine is going to be sacrificed so we can regroup on NATO's borders. That doesn't mean to say, however, that we can't continue arming the Ukrainians for as long as they can put up a resistance in the hope they can turn the situation around.

Another tactic is straight from Putin's playbook - initiate a Special Operation, just like Putin claims his invasion is. NATO can go in on a de-Nazification mission. Putin is, by any reasonable definition, a Nazi, so his troops would be fair game. Highly unlikely though.

In the end, however, I suspect China holds the aces for ending this.

On the issue of refugees, I was listening to a soldier on a talk radio show yesterday who maintained the Army regularly had to conduct biometric check on Afghans who were joining their effort against the Taliban. He said that the Army had the capability of conducting 1,000 checks a day and the Home Office could hand this operation to the Army. 

There again, 100m people visit the UK every year and biometric checks are done on UK soil at airports or maritime ports without any problems. Given the vast majority will have passports, I simply can't see the problem in admitting those immediately. There again, it's all part of the Hostile Environment policy and especially aimed at not allowing Syrians in.