A British army Challanger 2 tank near Basra in Iraq. Photograph: Dan Chung for The Guardian. Does Britain Really Need The Military? -- The Guardian
Our armed forces were made to fight in conventional wars and cannot meet the real threats to modern Britain. So why must we pay £45bn for something that's so obsolete?
Six months ago I proposed in the Guardian that if Britain was short of money it should cut defence. I did not mean reduce defence, or trim defence. I meant cut it altogether. We are desperately short of money and absolutely no one is threatening to attack us now or in the foreseeable, indeed conceivable, future. Besides, as we have seen this past week, other ways of ensuring security make more pressing claims on us. We just do not need an army, navy or air force. So why are we paying £45bn for them?
Read more ....
My Comment: Being someone who grew up in a family that experienced the worst of the Second World War (i.e. Russians facing the German Wehrmacht), I do not share Simon Jenkins' argument that the MoD should be eliminated. From my history .... having a strong and well equipped military is not a bad thing, and not having one (or a weak one) .... will only expose oneself to the wolves that are out there.
However .... his argument that there is no clear strategy or mission from the U.K. MoD is a valid one .... and he is also right that if you are going to spend that type of money, you better justify it. The U.K. Government has failed in justifying why they should spend this money, and what is worse .... is that in their minds they strongly believe that they have.