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Although I am not a great fan of Michael Portillo as a journalist, I do have a fair amount of respect for someone who following the shock of losing his Parliamentary seat, without going into hiding, came back into the public spotlight with an appropriate degree of humility and set about building a new career in the Media.

In today’s Sunday Times he wrote an interesting article concerning, in his view, the ‘humiliation’ of the British effort in Basra. Personally I think he rather over egged it because neither “total disaster” nor “total success” can describe the outcome, it is all rather more complicated and complex to make those judgements at this time. But that said, he raised some very interesting issues concerning Defence…

A Quote from his Article…

“It raises questions about the stamina of our nation and the resolve of our political class. It is an uncomfortable conclusion that Britain, with nuclear weapons, cruise missiles, aircraft carriers and the latest generation of fighter-bombers, is incapable of securing a medium-size conurbation. Making Basra safe was an essential part of the overall strategy; having committed ourselves to our allies we let them down.”

It is very difficult not to agree that Michael Portillo has a valid point here and although he has expressed it somewhat differently, it does show right from the beginning that Tony Blair wanted to ‘cut a dash’ on the world stage “on the cheap”. He never made the required investments in our military capacity at any time he was Prime Minister and yet demanded more from them than any Prime Minister since the Second World War – he is a disgrace and Brown even worse.

Punching Above Our weight…

The one thing that disturbs me most is “Punching Above Our Weight”, not because of the words but because of the underlying mental weakness it displays and a total lack of reality. “Britain, with nuclear weapons, cruise missiles, aircraft carriers and the latest generation of fighter-bombers…” describes the problem very well.

We order huge two aircraft carriers the cost of which including running costs, means effectively that we will end up with a 2 ship Navy. This is not a sign of strength, it is a sign of total mental weakness we need to stop and focus on not only what we want to do but also set it against what we can afford to do, they may not be the same.

Both Blair and Brown clearly could give a fart for our Servicemen and women, all that putting them in harm’s way means to them is that they can strut and pose, they don’t even attempt to fund them properly. This is not to say that previous Conservative Governments were any better, Maggie who owed her political life to the Falklands War, was only too happy to go for a “Peace Dividend” on Defence spending.

Something to Learn or Re-Learn

Americans can be and generally are, very patriotic and historically, the Military in various forms is interwoven into the very fabric and collective spirit of the Country. In comparison, England specifically has always been callous with the forces she has depended upon for her very survival. Wounded sailors left rotting on the streets of South Coast towns after the Spanish Armada was defeated ring too loud a resonance throughout our history. We need to change this culture and by far the best way of doing that is via conscription and a revised period of National Service the majority of which, may not be military. It may have to start earlier at say 15 and encompass education, it would also need to be totally “unavoidable”, physical and mental disability being the only get out.

We need to reconnect the Military in all its positive aspects back to the community at large and that means reaching into the homes and families of every citizen, making it and the experiences of it, totally upfront and personal.

More Than This…

We need to abandon all pretentions in our thinking and therefore the weapons systems we buy into. Our current Trident Missile system has probably a 10 – 15 year lifespan left. We need to talk and work with the Americans on this but our aim should be not only do we not replace it but, vigorously pursue new reduction and eradication treaties, these weapons are unusable.

A massive expansion of Cruise Missile carrying submarines such as Astute probably makes sense for long range “projection” using conventional warheads. The two aircraft carriers are irrelevant and along with their aircraft, should be cancelled. In terms of delivering something specialised and useful to any future NATO operations, the UK should “specialize” in doing certain things well rather than too many things it cannot afford or support.

Define the Role – 200 Miles

The main problem is that probably nobody since the Napoleonic Wars has sat down and set out British Defence Policy. It is axiomatic to the principles of good design that whether a building a car or whatever, you design from the inside outwards, in other words, start with the function and use of the object.

Defence is self defence and the British Isles are a very small target that could not survive beyond a first wave nuclear strike from say Russia and a ‘dirty bomb’ planted in London by Islamic terrorists are unlikely to present a clear target for nuclear retaliation. However, we have extensive coastlines to defend and the first priority must be constant surveillance using UAVs (Unmanned Ariel Vehicles) which could be armed. We need to start with a policy of total reach and ability to defend in depth an area extending 200 miles from our coastline and in any direction.

UAVs

UAVs are not a total solution, little in military terms is but they can be a cornerstone to a sensible and affordable defence. We can no longer develop sophisticated aircraft independently in the UK the R & D costs are prohibitive but, we can develop UAVs and we do have the expertise in the Country to do it.

Part of our defence strategy must be to be able to manufacture UAVs and their weapons systems wholly within the UK so that if ever we had to “Stand Alone Again” we could. Beyond these first steps we need to look at a new breed of Assault Ships that can carry UAVs, Helicopters and Commando type troops and equipment, the Navy will need an expansion of surface vessels.  

Summary:

A simple plan:

Conscription will deliver manpower not just for a minimum 100,000 standing BEF and logistical support of a military effort but also manpower to sustain “civilian activities”.

UAVs will supply flexibility, sustainability, intelligence and attack capabilities.

An expanded and refocused Royal Navy will be able to defend our Seas, maintain a sea bridge to North America and curtail aggressive operations against those.

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