Britain must decide what its armed forces are for
General Sir Roly Walker, the Chief of the General Staff, said earlier this month that a 'frank conversation' with the British public about the need to prepare for a future war was vitally important. He is not wrong. The world is increasingly perilous – Russia’s ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine continues and its campaign of ‘hybrid’ attacks is expanding in scope and intensity. America’s conflict in Iran is exposing both the changing character of war and Washington’s own defence limitations. The United States is also pursuing Nato 3.0, which will see it scale back its own forces and shift the conventional burden onto its European allies.
