Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth
Robert William "Bob" Ainsworthis a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliamentfor Coventry North East from 1992 to 2015, and was the Secretary of State for Defence from 2009 to 2010. Following the general election in 2010 he was the Shadow Defence Secretary, but was replaced by Jim Murphy following the election of new Labour leader Ed Miliband...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth19 June 1952
long tough backgrounds
I come from a pretty tough background and I learned a long time ago not to be bothered.
privilege defence expected
I never expected to be Defence Secretary. It's a great privilege.
years profound watches
Failure in Afghanistan would have profound consequences for our national security. It would undermine the NATO alliance structure that has been the bedrock of Britain's defence for the last 60 years... I will not allow this to happen on my watch.
growing-up italian cooking
Growing up, I was always in the kitchen. Even in third grade, I made cooking videos called 'The Little Italian.' Very little production value, but it was good.
hair people teeth
I got a tooth bust by somebody who decided they didn't like me and I thought the moustache hid a scar on my lip. It's true that people were told facial hair was not appreciated by the British public, but I just decided to keep the moustache.
hero spirit another-life
My heroes are the non-commissioned officers. If I had another life thats what Id be - a regimental sergeant major or a similar rank. Thats where the spirit of the armed forces is.
country war west
We in the West walked away from Afghanistan at the end of the Cold War and left it as a country devastated socially and armed to the teeth. If we do that again, there will be consequences.
doctorate great pretend
I have strengths, and I have weaknesses. I don't pretend to be able to write a great thesis or doctorate - I have no pretensions in that direction.
defence environment quickly respond security
Defence must be more adaptable, able to respond quickly to the changes in the security environment and the character of conflict.
inflict
The last thing we want to do is to go into an area and inflict unnecessary civilian casualties. One is too many.