“The former General is open about the fact that he believes the 50% increase in arms spending he is urging is necessary for Britain’s ability to fight wars internationally.”
It is highly regrettable that General Sir Peter Wall, Former Chief of the General Staff of the British Army, should be publicly arguing for an increase in the military budget at a time when our cash-starved public services are under desperate strain from the Coronavirus pandemic.
Britain already has the sixth biggest military budget in the world, and is in the Ministry of Defence’s own words, “by far the largest NATO defence spender in Europe in absolute terms”.
The former General is open about the fact that he believes the 50% increase in arms spending he is urging is necessary for Britain’s ability to fight wars internationally. He believes an increase is needed to prove “from America’s perspective that Britain has the resources to make it a credible player on the world stage and a worthwhile ally.”
After nearly two decades of fighting in catastrophic US-led wars, it is surely time that British foreign policy moved away from foreign wars and slavish subservience to the US.
The recent appearance by the current Chief of Defence staff, Sir Nick Carter, in a daily government briefing suggests that the armed forces are trying to use the Coronavirus crisis to increase their profile. What is needed to deal with the pandemic is an emergency funding programme for the NHS, social care and other essential services.
Stop the War has launched a petition calling on the British government to support the UN Secretary General’s calls for a global ceasefire by pulling British troops back from foreign engagements. The money saved should be used to boost the government’s faltering response to the pandemic.