Sussex Bylines interviewed Charlie Herbert for our occasional Defenders of Democracy series. The wide-ranging discussion covered not only the recent Trump-led peace plan for Gaza and the damage inflicted on both Israeli and Palestinian populations by the war, but also, and closer to home, the failure of mainstream education to support neurodiverse children, the current state of UK politics, and why the army can sometimes prove to be a lifeline for young men from troubled backgrounds.
In the first of two articles we explore how Charlie Herbert’s army career shaped his views on current events in the Middle East.
Not your stereotypical army officer
Charlie Herbert describes himself as being in many ways “a rather establishment figure” although he scarcely fits the popular stereotype of a senior army officer. The very model of a modern major-general he is certainly not, breaking the unspoken rule that retired members of the military should keep a low profile and steer clear of public controversy. He has been a passionate critic of Israel’s tactics in Gaza, has a large following on social media, and has been interviewed by such left-wing luminaries as Owen Jones and investigative journalist Matt Kennard for their podcasts.
The background that shaped him
Struck by the frequency with which Herbert mentions the importance of a moral compass in his interviews, I wondered how his early experiences and career in the army had shaped his own beliefs.
Adopted at an early age and brought up in what he describes as a very loving middle-class home, he credits his parents for many of the values that he holds, although his father’s world view – “conservative with a small and a large C” – would be very different to his own as an adult. Describing himself as a bit of a wild teenager, “a rebel without a clue”, he left school immediately after taking his GCSEs and joined the army at seventeen.
“I was unusual amongst my peers in having joined up as a soldier straight from school” he explains, “Most senior ranking officers of my generation went to Oxbridge and then applied to join the army through the officer selection scheme.”
Military force always a last resort
Herbert served on the frontline in all the major campaigns of the last three decades – from Northern Ireland to the Gulf War, Bosnia to Afghanistan. He has reflected deeply on what he learnt from his experiences in sometimes horrendously dangerous war zones and is passionate about the need for political solutions to even the most intransigent conflicts.
“Military force must always be a last resort, not the first. The military are inevitably a blunt instrument and can never replace the long and patient diplomacy that’s needed to solve conflicts.” He goes on to compare the decades-long efforts that led up to the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland with the current Israeli government’s strategy in Gaza.
“My experience as a twenty-year old soldier in Belfast really helped to shape and inform my views about the use of the military in conflict situations. We operated under very strict rules of engagement and under police primacy, and although I often faced extremely dangerous situations I never fired a shot in anger over the four years that I served in Northern Ireland.”
He was told at the time by a senior officer that the army were there to buy time to allow space and time for the peace negotiations to run their course. With huge compromises by all the parties involved, the Good Friday Agreement was eventually born and it has held to this day. As Herbert says, it’s far from perfect, but it has brought peace.
“You cannot kill your way to a political solution,” he insists, “And at the moment the current Israeli government sees every nail in its path as one to be attacked with a lethal hammer-blow.” The militarisation of Israeli society and the inclusion of far-right politicians in Netanyahu’s government gives him little faith that the Trump peace plan will work – but more of that later.
Catastrophic impact of war on civilians
Having seen at first-hand the enormous loss of life in Iraq during the Gulf War, Herbert has thought deeply about the psychological impact on civilian populations of terrorist attacks and military responses. “I saw it in the US after the events of 9/11,” he says, “But going into Afghanistan was a terrible mistake. With some of the horrors that the US Army inflicted on the local population and the stories of waterboarding, the scandals of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, the US became the monster it was seeking to destroy.”
Fearful that Hamas’ murderous attack of 7 October 2023 on Israeli civilians might provoke an equally catastrophic response, Herbert went on social media after the massacre, pleading with the Israeli government not to repeat the same mistake. “That deep psychological damage to a nation inevitably leads to the loss of one’s moral compass at the time and to a disproportionate response, and sadly that’s what has happened.”
His plea to the Israeli government – probably an unrealistic one given the trauma that the nation had suffered – was to use the awful event as the catalyst to understanding Palestinian grievances. “The Israelis and the Palestinians desperately need to find a way out of the cycles of violence that they are trapped in. As long as the killing continues future generations will continue to be radicalised.”
Pessimistic about Trump’s peace plan
He is gloomy about the likelihood of the Trump peace plan leading to real change. “It’s a ceasefire plan, not a peace plan. Where is the detail? There are so many incredibly sensitive issues that are yet to be addressed: How will Gaza be restored? Will the blockade be lifted, the IDF withdrawn from the Strip, and how will internal security be achieved? Governance is a key issue, and it’s one that Palestinians themselves must have a major voice in developing. I don’t believe that at the moment we are any closer to a better peace.”
“But,” he adds after a long pause, “I do so hope that I’m wrong.”
The second article focuses on domestic politics – Herbert’s views on education, the “manosphere”, immigration, and the Green Party
