Wyler,
Thank you...but in reply to your comments below:
We are bankrupt now, but we will not be forever and yet in comparison to the economy, the UK military takes considerably longer to 'recover' - even if there is a defence review every 4 years.
The public maybe lacking support for Iraq/Afghanistan now, but does that mean that when/if future conflicts appear that the British public will not wonder why the UK has not been involved in protecting British interests, especially with a PM that is very much showing the British public that he is part of the world stage with his comments on Pakistan and Turkey this week?
I agree that Trident is a political tool, and not one that will actually win any tactical battles, control battle space etc, so it should be funded outside of MoD. If not UK MoD is unaffordable at whatever level of proposed cuts you look at it - HMT can have its Trident and an Italian style Gendarmerie (Mr C H I do see your point, but do you really see a capital rise in the Defence budget that would cover Trident costs?).
And finally, of course our politicians are our masters, but equally the starred ranks must surely be advising on the near and long term implications of the current proposed cost cuttingr that October will bring. We are not talking about single service rivalry here, with 20bn taken to fund Trident, then whichever cloth you wear the future protection of UK national interests is at risk (and the petty inter service squabbles of MBTs, FJs and CVFs pale into insignificance) - and some may argue that it is better to take on the threat in someone elses back yard rather than in your own.
A united and coherent Joint Chiefs advice to HMG must surely be valued, and if the starred officers believe that their professional judgement has been compromised by an overwhelming desire to cut costs then one could argue that a united resignation would establish the gravity of the situation.
Living space, water and food - that my friend is what we will be fighting for in the future and so I must disagree within the next 20 years we could possibly see UK shores and national interests threatened.