One may not be interested in war, but war is definitely interested in one, Trotsky said. War, or some governments, or the military-industrial complex whose growing influence Eisenhower warned about in his farewell speech, even though he was a general. But the ominous premonitions of the last week about a new major global conflict in the medium or short term are currently going in one ear and out the other to the British.
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, little interested in military issues and more concerned about the economy and the deplorable state of public health, has said not to mention the suggestion made by a high-ranking army officer to call up ordinary citizens and currents and thus create a force of half a million men and women in charge of repelling Russian aggression in Europe.
The United Kingdom wants to play in the first division of war, as a faithful squire of the United States, having nuclear weapons and land, sea and air armies, as well as marines and special forces, ready to intervene with little notice anywhere on the planet. , and even two at the same time. He brags about it – it is a sign of national identity – but the reality is very different, despite having spent 60 billion euros on Defense last year (2.1% of GDP).
Great Britain has problems on multiple fronts, from the recruitment of personnel (subcontracted to the private company Capita, which has received 1.4 billion euros to date) to the training of troops, including equipment and infrastructure. Two aircraft carriers that have cost a fortune are dozing in the port of Portsmouth due to lack of sailors and spare parts, and two ships used by the Marines are going to be scrapped to make a new contingent of frigates operational.
“Money only goes as far as it goes, but the military wants more and for this they do not hesitate to say that the wolf is coming. The argument is that Trump will let Putin win in Ukraine, Russia will destabilize Latvia and Estonia, NATO will intervene and the chain of events will lead to a war for which the United Kingdom is not prepared. And that, if not in Europe, it will be in the Middle East or due to the Chinese attempt to annex Taiwan,” says Martin Farrell, defense expert.
Politicians do not criticize the military for fear of being denounced as bad patriots, but neither do they give them the money they ask for. The alarms they have sounded occur, according to lovers of conspiracy theories, in an election year and with the perspective of a Labor government that, if precedents serve, will give priority to public services and not the army.
As it did in Iraq and Afghanistan, London has not hesitated to side with Washington in response to attacks on commercial ships from bases in Yemen. He considers that it is his obligation as a “first-class military power.” But drones cost Iranian-sponsored militias ten thousand euros each, while each Royal Navy missile carries a price tag of more than one million.
Few jokes, with the country immersed in the full cost of living crisis.
