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A new British think tank report urges the United Kingdom to have more modest military aspirations.  Reports the National Newspaper:  "Britain should stop trying to be 'a mini-United States' and give up maintaining armed forces capable of policing world trouble spots, a report from an influential think tank said yesterday."

Business as usual simply won't work in today's world, especially in the midst of economic crisis.  Added the National:

Lord Paddy Ashdown, joint chairman of the panel and a former international high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the BBC yesterday: "One conclusion we arrive at is that we can no longer afford to maintain a museum of Cold War armaments.

"We can no longer afford to maintain full-spectrum armed forces capable of operating anywhere in the globe like a mini-United States."

Lord George Robertson, co-chairman of the panel and a former Nato secretary general, added: "In the post-9/11, post-financial crisis world, we must be smarter and more ruthless in targeting national resources as the real security risks.

A more realistic military policy centered more on genuine national defense?  I don't know about Britain, but it sure sounds like a good idea for America!

View all comments (2) | Leave a comment

Dagpotter| 7.1.09 @ 9:47AM

England can have whatever military they want to pay for. The problem is they don't have the money after social spending and debt. The U.S. will be facing that choice soon enough. Ashdown et al want the UK to cooperate with Europe to increase their capability. The UK may as well give up on having a Navy, modern Air Force and any power projection capability like the other EU states. This is not necessarily a good thing.

Teleprompter Messiah| 7.1.09 @ 1:53PM

Is this the better relationship with Allies Obama promised? More drawdown of allied militaries to pay for social engineering? Even greater reliance on American military power and logistical finesse for power projection is where this leads.

Time for us to reassess what artefacts in the Cold War Museum we wish to be allied with.

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More Blog Posts by Doug Bandow

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/07/01/brits-say-time-to-get-realisti

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