Fallon: 'Britain Is Back' With 'Bigger, Stronger' Defense

[Zarvan]

2015 has been a tough year. It began with the appalling attack on Charlie Hebdo and ended with the worst attacks in Paris since World War II. Many more innocent people lost their lives to terror — on a Tunisian beach, on a Russian airliner and in a Malian hotel.

Besides the curse of the Islamic State group (ISIL), we've seen a resurgent Russia undermine Ukrainian sovereignty and mass migration spilling into the Mediterranean. The diversity, complexity and concurrence of these events has been unprecedented, placing strain on our international-rules-based system.




The UK is responding with bigger, stronger defense. As a new government, we were elected to deliver economic security and national security. So we've chosen to increase our defense budget year-on-year. We've upped our planned equipment spend by £12 billion (US $18 billion) to £178 billion ($268 billion). And our new Strategic Defense and Security Review provides a more assertive blueprint for action in the years ahead.

First, it gives us greater flexibility to deal with the unexpected. Our potent new Joint Force 2025 doesn't just mean more planes, more ships and better-equipped special operations forces. It gives us two strike brigades able to take on multiple missions at short notice. And it upgrades our cyber and strategic communications capability to counter the extremist narrative with a faster truth.

Second, it nails our colors to the innovation mast with a significant investment in innovation over the next decade. The US offset strategy recognizes fifth-generation technology, weapons proliferation and cheap tech threaten the West's leading edge. We're investing in big data, robotics and miniaturization to keep ahead of the curve. Back in October, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and I challenged our brightest brains to do more to develop game-changing disruptive technology.

Thirdly, we're becoming international by design — working with allies and partners to deliver our national security goals and tackle global threats. NATO remains the cornerstone of our defense. We're committing to NATO's 2 percent target [of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense] and leading its new high-readiness spearhead force in 2017. Bilateral partnerships are critical too, and our special relationship with the US remains preeminent. Our recent investments in F-35, carriers, maritime patrol aircraft and our deterrent — areas of shared interest — offer further reason to tighten our ties.

So Britain is not shying away, we're projecting our power.

In 2015, our brave service men and women have again been in action — defying Russian aggression in the Baltic and confronting ISIL in Iraq. They've been participating in 21 operations in 19 countries. Now we're making the case to beat back the terrorists in their Syrian strongholds. UN Security Council Resolution 2249 called on states to take "all necessary measures" to prevent and suppress ISIL's terrorist activities. Seventy years on from victory in Europe, the terror threat has changed but we're still standing together in solidarity.

In 2016, I'll be focused on delivering our SDSR plans. I'll also be preparing for July's NATO Warsaw summit, where our focus is delivering the military capability and investment agreed at the last summit in Wales; establishing a 21st century deterrence posture; and driving further adaptation to tackle threats from East and South. Above all I'll be making sure we do everything in our power to protect our people and our way of life. The message is clear: Britain is back.

Fallon is UK secretary of state for defense.

Fallon: 'Britain Is Back' With 'Bigger, Stronger' Defense

@gambit @Oscar

 

[calmDown@all]

 

[Dalit]

They are in it for the laung haul. Better start investing more and more.

 

[calmDown@all]

They are in it for the laung haul. Better start investing more and more.

Why do we feel we must behave as a world power? Whenever a crisis blows up — Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and now Syria — politicians of whichever party act as though it is our national destiny to intervene.

Much of the media, particularly the BBC, colludes in the fiction that what this country does during these crises is decisive.
. Britain is mentioned in the same breath as the U.S. Maps are produced signifying British fire-power on which there are almost as many Union Flags as Stars & Stripes.

Our leading politicians adore it all. Tony Blair was in seventh heaven when able to present himself almost as an equal of President George W. Bush before the Iraq War. His ecstatic reception in Congress a few months after the invasion was the apotheosis of his dreams.

Defense cuts and our dwindling Royal Navy, RAF and Army means that, what happens in today's debate on Syria in the House of Commons is pretty much irrelevant to the outcome

David Cameron relishes the role of international statesman and we are told every time he has a telephone conversation with President Obama

Tony Blair was in seventh heaven when able to present himself almost as an equal of President George W. Bush before the Iraq War






David Cameron, though more measured, also relishes the role of international statesman. We are informed every time he has a phone conversation with President Obama. His spin doctors have revealed that over the weekend one call lasted an entire 40 minutes!

Meanwhile, we have created the grandiosely named National Security Council, after the American version. The difference is that while the U.S. President commands a huge, world-wide navy and other formidable military assets, we have a dwindling Royal Navy, RAF and Army.



Read more: Why do we still fool ourselves that Britain is a great power? | Daily Mail Online
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i firmly belive its a powerful nation but not enough to tackle a war like scenario they got there own problem too its not that i am against them its my opinion sorry if u don't like it