World mastery by - not Hitler - but Churchill; exactly what he, Churchill, was after!

Quotes from Radio 4, 'Britain at Sea' presented by Admiral Lord West.  Transcript of a small part of the programme:

Churchill's decision to go for oil had huge implications internationally.  Britain needed a secure supply and unlike coal, we did not have oil on our mainland.  Churchill's eyes turned towards the Middle East.

Daniel Yergin has written a definitive history of oil, called 'The Prize: the epic quest for oil, money and power', commented Lord West. In the programme, 'Britain at Sea', Jurgen said,

"The momentous decision meant that oil entered into strategic decisions.  ... Oil became the fuel of national power. ... In converting the Royal Navy from coal to oil and proceeding to ensure an oil supply Churchill said, 'The prize of the venture was world mastery itself' ... That captured what it was all about.  Once the decision was made it meant that Britain was no longer dependent on Welsh coal for its Royal Navy but rather upon oil supplies and they happened to come from this distant country, Persia (Iran) raising all sorts of questions about security and reliability of supply.  It did mean a pivot towards the Middle East and, coming out of the First World War, it really confirmed Churchill's understanding of the strategic importance of oil.  That was when countries started to focus on the Middle East and its resources and that was the beginning of the Middle East role that it has today as such a central source of oil on which the world depends."

Without the relentless application of naval power, we could never have won (1st WW). From the RN's perspective, arguably the most important meeting of the 1WW came not in 1914 but three years earlier on the 23 August 1911 ... That was when Britain moved away from a maritime to a continental strategy

Such a pity but worth it when we didn't have to die!

We rushed to war on 4 August 1914.
Our intervention was premature, our army too small and, certainly, war was unnecessary when Germany had no intention of attacking Britain - until we attacked them.
The Cabinet knew it would fall, then lose power at the General Election, if it did not declare war on Germany - according to historian, Niall Ferguson.
Our war, much of its prosecution and the way it was resolved in 1919 was utterly stupid, especially the reparations and all the blame laid on Germany alone.
Germany nearly won in 1914, 1916 and, once more in 1918.  The beat Russia in 1917.
Violence, domination and control breeds more of all three, as we have seen off and on in Ireland for 800 years, in Israel/Palestine for 70 years - and, with the UK with our mighty victory minus magnanimity in 1919 that led to the second half of the European/Christian World War - in 1939, according to a former Conservative leader, Ian Duncan Smith.
UK has been engaged in warfare, somewhere in the world, for every single year for the last 100 years. Finally, in 2015 it seems, we may, finally live in peace and non-violence with all our neighbours in the world.
Even with the knowledge that 10 to 20 million people died horrific deaths in 4 years, nearly all Brits today still maintain this was such a pity but very necessary to stop Germany taking over some of our world control in 1914.  In 1914, a Germany far more democratic than the UK, too.
This is not a good example to set to the Muslim extremists/radicals of this day.
Ours is not a fine record.