WEBF et al,
Sorry for coming to this thread relatively late on.
I have read with interest all the posts made so far.
Lots of well –argued points made but I feel the most telling was the quote in a post that commended the British Armed Forces for punching above their weight for so long. This is the crux of the matter as I see it. Although I am a Liberal (with a capital L) I am not peacenik loony. I have for the last 25 years had, some would say, an unhealthy interest in defence and military matters.
What has to be realised is that since the end of the First World War the UK has been operating above its ability to properly pay for its military. We need to take stock of whom we are and what we NEED to do as opposed to what we would LIKE to do. I would like to give 3 example countries to compare with the UK and to look at their Armed Forces. The countries are Germany, Canada and Japan. If you look at these three countries and then look at the more costly line items in the defence budget of the UK it is difficult to justify the expenditure. Neither of these three countries has any carriers nor any plans for them in the future. None of these countries has a nuclear deterrent or any known plans to acquire one. In the cases of Germany and Japan both of these countries are heavily reliant on oil from the Middle East yet they do not seem to have the same need for massive navies. The Japanese and the Germans both have “warrior” heritages like us Brits so it is not like the Swedes or the Swiss who just prefer to be neutral. The Canadians have massive coastal issues to deal with. Furthermore for the whole of the Cold War they were as much on the frontline as we were.
The point I am trying to make in my own hapless style is to quote Garth from Wayne’s World, “Live in the now” and prepare for the future that is coming not what we would like it to be. The warfare of the future will bear no resemblance to that we have seen so far. We are talking unconventional warfare to the max. Carriers, nukes, MBTs and Typhoons are for the past. Lets look to the future.
Another way to look at it is that most of the world will be looking to purchase these new emergent technologies so lets get a shift on and make our way to the forefront of developing it rather than crying over our chips.
Cheers
BHR