The declaration of a state of armed conflict with an abstract noun
Introduces an unambiguous state of affairs.
A purely esoteric concept, this construct
Is no simplified bandwagon for public transport.

Advocates frown upon reactionary hysteria;
Persistent political scaremongering is a misconception;
Perpetuation of an ideal would not be manifest by draconian legislation,
Or the creeping intrusion of a burgeoning police state.

Big brother safekeeping a Big Society, founded on trust and equality,
Would not give paedophiles additional company on the modern ‘I Spy’ roster,
Burn a racial stereotype into the minds of a nation,
Or hammer deeper wedges between the divided.

Difference in opinion, divergence from this key belief,
Whether derived from religion or free-thought,
Is healthy debate and not leprously unclean,
Disparity in ideology being no criteria for genocide.

No ironic analogy can be drawn between foreign policy and terrorism,
As proved by the definition of the latter as the:
“Systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve some goal”,
A strategy that would be abhorred by a civilised nation.

Yet a strong hand engenders respect from weaker nations,
A nanny state whose altruism extends to overseas education;
Class troublemakers receive special attention from the most unorthodox of au pairs,
No gifted red apples in this complex foreign exchange scheme.

Subsequent confrontation with proper nouns simplifies matters,
Splintering this paradigm into digestible pieces.
Consumption unassisted by the popular media,
They are served from on high by a silver spoon.

It bodes well, when squatting on another’s soil,
To select for occupation a country that has remained sovereign throughout history,
Populated by pugnacious factions who will defer habitual infighting,
Put aside their differences, and resist intrusion united.

There are certain requisites for such a weighty endeavour:
Public support; clear timescales; utter transparency; and accountability;
The presentation of superfluous aspects
Concerning mortality statistics and cartographic colouring.

Contrived euphemisms have no place in businesslike communication,
No occlusion of reality by incontinent ordnance or non-operative personnel :
Homeless in the frank wording characteristic of Government press statements,
Neither psychological distance nor fact-turned-allegation, only death bare-faced.

Financial prudence is a principle of Government,
Particularly in these recessed times (when the horse has long since bolted).
Nonetheless the adequate funding of one’s cavalry remains sacrosanct ,
Requiring no supplementation via prostitution to special relations.

Public opinion concurs that these inviolate actions are sublimely coordinated,
Reassurance found in meeting the quantified targets of a defined master plan.
Soon power will be invested in a minder like our own, vetted and spotless;
No crimson-handed avaricious puppet, this tender of stability.

This mixture of competing aspects is readily distilled, should one care to question,
No inherent contradiction in this crusade for global stability,
An inviolate motive, unsullied by narcotics or hydrocarbons:
Peace and security, from “War on Terror”.