Although the detail must wait until after the NSCR concludes, I can assure the House that as long as I am Defence Secretary we will develop and sustain the capabilities necessary to maintain continuous at-sea nuclear deterrence, a carrier force that can strike anywhere around the globe and the armed forces necessary to protect the north Atlantic and Europe; and we will continue to work with our NATO allies. The Prime Minister, the Chancellor and I will be doing all we can to ensure that we have a sustainable budget, so that we can deliver the right capabilities for our armed forces.
So the Carrier force can strike anywhere around the world, but the ground forces you need in any offensive action to back that up will simply be to protect Europe and the North Atlantic.... It does read as if one does not neccessarily support the other, one being area limited and a defensive posture, the other being global and offensive.
The second part could be read as we will provide the budget and capabilities to the armed forces proportionate to the size we intend to cut them too.
