The UK may not have been attacked by another country since 1945 but I can think of over 20 occasions when it has been involved in military operations in countries as widespread as Greece, Malaya (as it was called during the "Emergency" in 1948), Korea, Egypt, Kenya, Cyprus, Oman, Jordan, Uganda, Aden, the Falklands, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Macedonia, Libya. No doubt there are other wars that I haven't recalled. Just as "peacekeeping" in Northern Ireland led to "asymmetrical warfare" on the mainland, so has almost constant intervention in the Middle East. It seems increasingly likely that continued interference intervention will lead to further asymmetrical "reprisals" in the UK.
On another note with regard to Trident, I recall a chilling interview with a five-star US general broadcast on BBC TV during the Cold War when he discussed a likely European war with what can only be described as glee. It quickly became apparent that a) the Pentagon was very keen to try out its new killing toys in a real war and b) it was highly dismissive of collateral damage - which would, of course, have included you and me. I am not so sure that we can be so blasé about no one really being willing to use nuclear weapons.
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