Today's media is full of stories about defence cuts. They come on the back of a parliamentary Defence Committee report which accuses the government of rushing the defence review and being preoccupied with cost-cutting - rather than dealing with the real threats Britain faces.
The thorny issue of Trident replacement also gets a lot of attention. The fact that replacing Trident, even using doctored government figures, will cost about £20bn over the next two decades (the true figure, of course, will be getting on for five times as high over its lifetime) and will be impossible to deliver without decimating the armed forces is debated in The Guardian, on Radio4's Today programme and by Channel 4 News.
The truth is that these armaments are essentially political not military weapons. They make less and less sense either militarily or diplomatically.
Andrew Alexander
Daily Mail
Even the traditionally pro-Trident Daily Mail has an opinion piece entitled ‘What price the nuclear club?’ that questions whether we need nuclear weapons at all. As columnist Andrew Alexander puts it:
"Many among the top brass think we cannot afford them, and not a few regard nuclear weapons as unusable and pointless anyway. The truth is that these armaments are essentially political not military weapons. They are supposed to keep our place at the top table diplomatically, though since the nuclear club now extends to Pakistan and North Korea, one marvels at their supposed value even to diplomats. They make less and less sense either militarily or diplomatically. By whom are we to be attacked? Terrorists? In that case, against whom would we retaliate? Who do we deter? It never even made sense during the Cold War since our quite puny deterrent could be used only in conjunction with the U.S. But it enabled us to huff and puff as if a major power."
Damn fine questions.
In the background key decisions are being made. Politicians are meeting to make decisions on Trident's future in coming days. Will they delay the decision? Will they decide to rectify the mistake of excluding Trident from the Defence Review and announce a proper full review of the UK's nuclear policy and how it impacts on the world?
The much promoted (then ignored) Treasury Spending Challenge consultation gave a clear picture of public opinion. An analysis of submissions by CND found that at both the stage of submitting ideas and the second stage of voting on them, Trident dominated in the area of Defence, with over 600 submissions calling for spending on Trident to be cut.
It’s time for you to have your say…. please use this link to send a clear message to Chancellor George Osborne to cut Trident replacement and prioritise protecting frontline services.
