At the strategic crossroads
Decision time looms for Britain's armed forces
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Friday, 15, May 2009 06:34
In the old days defence chiefs used to have to battle between the three branches of the military. Tussles between the army, navy and air force are a long-standing tradition.
Things haven't changed much. The semi-permanent wringing of hands currently on display over the third tranche of the Eurofighter Typhoon echoes down the ages.
Army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt chose not to refer openly to the Eurofighter during his speech to Chatham House in London today. But he fought the British Army's corner nonetheless as this unnamed, hugely controversial issue dominated proceedings.
First up he made clear the current situation is unsustainable. "It's difficult not to conclude that our focus on preparing and equipping for a particular type of conventional state threat has left us unbalanced," he said.
"Our enemies have adapted. So must we. I see our present balance as being too heavily balanced in weight of the future. This is the part of the equation that in my view we've mis-appreciated in recent years and I think there's a growing realisation of this point."
Gen Dannatt preferred to focus on a new kind of balance: that between the short-term needs of Britain's campaigns in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and longer-term imperatives.
The problem, it appears, is the more longer-term the perspective gets the bigger the impulse to concentrate on fighting the kind of conventional warfare Gen Dannatt views as being so outdated.
It's no surprise, as he manages the day-to-day complications of equipping, training and sustaining his stretched forces in Afghanistan, his view tends towards the short-term.
Gen Dannatt was aware his views, though important, will form just a part of the debate about which way to turn at the "strategic crossroads".
Like all military figures he's keen to play up the national prestige card, raising "Britain's place in the world and our associated level of national ambition".
And he's very much aware a tough choice will have to be made, especially given the strained nature of the public finances in the coming decade. As he put it: "In this age of austerity I do not think we are going to be able to afford all the top-quality clubs that we have hitherto aspired to put into our golf bag."
Fortunately Gen Dannatt's speech contained hints about whether to go for a lofted shot or keep things land-based. Perhaps returning to the crossroads analogy later in his speech, he pressed: "Iraq and Afghanistan are not aberrations. They are signposts for the future."
If the future of conflict is similar types of operation - be they interventions, stabilisations or prevention - the British soldier will have to be better prepared in the next ten years than he has been in the last.
Gen Dannatt's conclusion concentrated on the oft-repeated need to look after "today's Tommy's".
But it also packed a powerful punch, warning against the danger that Britain might "squander our increasingly scarce resources on those things that are not relevant to today's and tomorrow's absolute requirements".
The Eurofighter was the elephant in the room as he finished: "History will not judge our decision-making kindly if we duck the difficult decision and just muddle through. We are at a crossroads."