I find the mania about whatever's going on in Algeria extremely hard to understand.
Of course it is tragic for those who've been held captive or killed, and their families, but the people who have chosen to work in such isolated and potentially dangerous places do so more than willingly and are hugely well paid. This is a real case of knowing the potential risks, knowing the potential rewards and deciding that the rewards outweigh the risks.
When such ventures go wrong, as has this one in Algeria, it is those directly involved who must take whatever flak comes their way; it is not for governments to suddenly start bleating about the terrible situation and to move on to a virtual war footing. Responsibility does not rest with our government, it rests with the Algerians and the companies whose gas facility has been attacked; if they need the engagement of any other agencies, such as the UK government, they should pay for whatever is involved.
We have become far to used to our government underwriting every remotely risky element of our lives; it should not be like this. We all have individual responsibility and we should accept this; if we do risky things and they go wrong, that's our problem, not the government's.
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