What should we make of the Burnham administration’s position on national defense and on the undeclared conflict with Russia?
The Prime Minister has made his obligatory visit to Ukraine and offered president Zelensky very specific assistance with missiles that can target Russian territory.
Moscow has responded by saying that its response – to Ukrainian attacks with British weapons on Russian territory – could be against ‘all British military facilities and equipment in Ukraine and beyond’.
This is pretty serious. Then what has Is there any talk of the promise Chancellor John Healey made when he was Defense Secretary – that he would personally commit to increasing UK defense spending to 3% of GDP?
Why, he even resigned, sir Keir Starmerfor that reason the government. But now here he is, back in government, but with a bigger and grander Red Box, putting aside his own promise.
Of course, high expenditure in itself does not guarantee safety. A worrying portion of our military spending is wasted on wasteful projects.
Replacing our Trident missile submarines is very expensive.
But a retreat from this rather modest 3 percent target does not really fit Britain’s current stance as a major player in the fight against Russia in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Kiev
Vladimir Putin holds a meeting aboard the Russian Navy’s guided missile cruiser Varyag during the final phase of Pacific Fleet naval exercises on the far eastern Sakhalin Island on August 12.
If we want to fight such a battle – and most of us believe we must – then we must prepare to win it, with skill, brains and top-notch equipment.
There is a big risk. Russian President Putin is becoming more and more isolated from criticism and real news.
He grows older, lonely and frustrated by the failure of his aggression. History shows that the longer this goes on, the more erratic he is likely to be. But how well prepared are we for possible counter-reactions? For example, where is our missile defense?
That’s not all. As the Mail on Sunday reports today, this country is already facing subtle, difficult to foresee attacks in a “nuisance war” that could target missile factories here, or arms companies and their executives.
Andrei Fedorov, a former deputy foreign minister of Russia, who is now advises Putindescribes Britain as ‘evil number one’ on the Kremlin’s list and warns that we ‘must be punished’.
Philip Ingram, a former intelligence officer, writing in our pages, gives us deeper reasons to worry. He points out that Putin is actually weaker and more vulnerable than he wants to admit.
But he can do a lot to hurt or frighten us without triggering a devastating NATO response.
Whether the intensifying war is hybrid or hypersonic, we must simply prepare to fight it and defend against whatever comes.
Mr Healey is in danger of making a fool of himself by trying to back away from what he said at the Ministry of Defense now that he is at the Treasury.
He and the Prime Minister can redeem themselves by restoring the 3 percent target and by ordering a deep, in-depth and urgent review of our capabilities to fight a hybrid war and at least keep our airspace safe.
The government has no more important task.
