I notice that the infantile ‘cutting down the tall poppy syndrome’ appears to be flourishing again.

A favourite target of the left’s scissors are our special forces soldiers.

In the UK, they are still trying to charge ex-Parachute regiment soldiers with supposed crimes against the IRA in Ireland many years ago.

Closer to home, we have several cases against the Commandos and the SAS that served in Afghanistan.

On one hand, we have well-trained, highly motivated soldiers sent over to a war that the West obviously had no intention of winning. These soldiers had many rules and regulations imposed on them, much like sending a boxer into the ring with both hands tied behind their back. Then we watched them get disqualified for headbutting opponents.

On the other hand, we have an enemy that has no rules, no morals and no empathy for human life – people that have shown no qualms about hiding behind women and children or using them to conceal and detonate explosive devices. They even used old men to carry information and weapons under their clothes.

We send our soldiers into a dirty war, yet expect them to act in a squeaky-clean manner where the only possible winners are the enemy. These are the policies of appeasement at their worst.

Closer to home, we have a Northern Territory police officer on trial for murder after a known violent offender died while being apprehended. The officer claims that he retaliated after being stabbed, resulting in his attacker being shot three times in quick succession. Someone after the fact thought he should have fired only one shot.

It is obvious that the people making up these rules have never been in an adverse situation requiring split-second decisions in order to carry out their jobs or to save their own lives.

In fact, the very people who are doing the attacking have been kept safe by the dedication and resilience of detached rule-makers. It is easy to strike the high moral ground when you live a safe and comfortable life, especially when you owe that safety to the people on the front line who are often put in harm’s way.

There should be a law that only people who have served in the front line have the right to judge others for their actions under stressful and dangerous situations – not people who sit in the safety and normality provided by others.

For many of these people who strike the high moral ground, the greatest anxiety they have probably faced is when they receive a paper cut in their air-conditioned offices.