Is Britain's Military Power More Myth Than Reality?

Daniel Craig © Luke MacGregor / Reuters

RT: James Bond delusion: Britain’s military power an illusion made from myth, says scholar

Britain ignores its dependence on stronger allies and the dilapidated state of its “clapped out” armed forces in favor of a deluded 007 self-image, which came to the fore during the Brexit referendum, according to a leading scholar.

Writing for the Democratic Audit UK website on Tuesday, University of Warwick academic Dr. Mike Finn gave a savage critique of the James Bond self-delusion which helped fuel the EU referendum ‘Leave’ campaign.

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WNU Editor: This should not be the case. Britain's defense spending is the fourth largest in the world, but when I read stories like this one .... Navy to lose 'invaluable' only repair ship in cost-cutting (Telegraph), you have to wonder what are they spending their money on.

Can (And Will) Britain Fight Another War?

Reuters

Can Britain, Will Britain, Fight Another War? -- Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian

• UK government deeply sensitive to suggestion country not the military power it once was
• Devastating critique of UK approach to war
• Debate badly needed before next year's new defence review

After my return following a three-week break, the first item in the diary was the latest Military Balance report from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, the IISS.

It was, as expected, a measured tome. It pointed to the continuing cuts in western defence budgets, including Britain's, and rising military expenditure in the Asia-Pacific region, notably China.

IISS experts stressed that while Chinese military spending might equal that of the US in the mid-2030s, it would take much longer for China to have anything like the military capabilities the US currently possesses.

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My Comment: For the moment .... there is zero political or public will in Britain to get involved in another war, and my prediction is that this sentiment is going to be around for a very long time.

The Shrinking British Military

Britain To Have Smallest Army Since Napoleonic Wars -- Alexandra Evans, Passport/Foreign Policy

British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed in a statement to parliament today that the British Army will be slashed by 20,000 troops over the next decade as part of a new strategic plan called Army 2020. Nearly one-fifth of standing forces will be relieved of their duties as 17 major units are culled and many others shrunk in the effort to limit the army's force numbers to 82,000, its lowest level since the Napoleonic Wars.

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My Comment: They are cutting the British military to a level that would make it ineffective to fight any future major war .... but not cut enough to make it lose it's ability to teach future units on what it takes to function as a military force.