I left the Labour Party in about 2000 in large part because of its
defence policy. I therefore greatly
welcome the review of defence policy being undertaken, and hope that the Labour Party will move
towards an ethical defence policy than concentrates on supporting peace rather
than military interventions to support oil companies. I
will address the questions in the Policy Review (http://www.yourbritain.org.uk/agenda-2020/policyreview/defencereview)
and hope that these will help to inform your discussions.
But first let me state that Britain’s current defence policy is not morally
tenable as it includes nuclear weapons which could never legally be used as
they are indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction. Secondly our arms sales policies has
supported many belligerent countries and parties and led to huge numbers of
civilian deaths.
Britain’s
Place in the World: Values, Principles and Objectives
1) What role
should Britain play in building a world that is more peaceful, more just and
safer, how can we make a greater contribution to international peacekeeping and
strengthen the capabilities of the under-performing UN system?
It is very hard for a country to both be a peacemaker and to take part
in wars against other countries. Over
the years we have seen Britain involved in wars almost continuously during my
lifetime, with comparatively little work done to build peace. There is a clear need to move away from
military interventions in other wars and to greater support for peace keeping
operations. This will continue to
require troops, but with a different emphasis and training, concentrating on
building rather than destroying.
To build a world that is more peaceful it is also essential to stop
selling arms to repressive regimes around the world such as Israel (using them
in the West Bank and Gaza), Saudi Arabia (using them in Yemen), Turkey (using
them against Kurds), and many many more.
The sales of arms has been justified in terms of national interest and
keeping the defence industry going. But,
again and again we have seen weapons that Britain has sold being used against
British forces because it is profitable to sell them or there is a short term
benefit (such as the giving of arms to some forces in Afghanistan or Syria). The sale of arms has also led to widespread
corruption on a massive scale (see The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms
Trade,” by Andrew Feinstein’).
2) What should
be the values and principles that drive Britain’s strategic defence policy?
Peace, justice and social equity for it is these that will lead to a
lasting and real peace.
3) What
objectives follow from these values for Britain’s defence and foreign policy,
and how can our objectives best be achieved?
The objective should be to reduce war, fighting and arms across the
world. This can best be achieved by massively reducing the arms industry,
removing all nuclear weapons and ceasing to be a base for US forces.
4) What are
the strategic assets that Britain needs in order to protect our common
security?
The most important strategic asset that we have for protecting our
common security is the BBC (World Service) and this should be greatly
strengthened and further separated from government to ensure its neutrality.
The Threats to
Britain’s Security
1) What are
the key security challenges facing the UK?
Without doubt the key threat to Britain’s security is global
warming. This will lead to massive
crises far greater than anything we have seen before. It is extremely likely to lead to wars over
food and water and space to live.
2) What are
the more fundamental, long-term threats to our common security, what or who is
driving them?
Beyond that inequality and access to resources is likely to pose long
term threats.
3) How can we
improve our ability to identify, predict and act upon underlying threats to Britain’s
security, and work to prevent them developing?
Fighting global warming
Britain’s
Military and Security Forces: Capabilities, Spending, and Choices
1) What level
of defence spending is required to keep Britain safe and help us promote a more
peaceful and safer world?
I am not in a position to suggest a level of spending. However, if we stop being a nuclear power
then there are clearly huge amounts of money that can be saved with no loss of
security. Similarly, much of the
spending that is designed to enable us to intervene in other places could also
be curtailed.
2) What are
the lessons from recent conflicts about the equipment and military capabilities
required for the deployments Britain may face in the next few decades?
Nuclear weapons serve no purpose, and bring us no security. High-tech weapons that are being used in a
variety of wars that we are involved in, including Libya, Iraq and Syria do not
bring peace, and merely foment more hatred and more fighting. There is a need to move away from such
systems.
3) How can
Britain help to effectively stem the flow of weapons – chemical, nuclear, and military
– around the world and promote non-proliferation and disarmament?
We can stop selling arms to other countries (at least outside NATO) and
get rid of our nuclear weapons. This
will reduce the sources of weapons and act as focus for other countries to get
rid of their nuclear weapons.
4) What
training do our military and security forces need to carry out operations that
protect Britain’s security and pursue the values that guide our defence policy?
5) Will
renewal of Britain’s nuclear capability aid us in protecting Britain’s security
and pursuing the values that guide our foreign and defence policy?
Nuclear weapons can never legally be used as they are clearly indiscriminate
weapons of mass destruction that bring no security to the country. We have been
involved in wars every year since acquiring them. They do not allow us to press other countries
to disarm and do not serve in any foreseeable war.
6) What new
capabilities will our armed forces require to address the complex and dynamic threats
facing our common security, especially the growing threat of cyber attacks?
Protecting
British Jobs and Skills
1) Are the
UK’s armed forces equipped with the full range of skills they need to tackle
the threats Britain faces in the 21st century? Or do we need to do more?
This is a badly posed question.
There are areas that we need to reduce such as offensive interventions,
and increase the ability of forces to undertake peace keeping operations.
2) What are
the central economic challenges our domestic defence industry will face in the next
few decades and what must be done to overcome them?
If there is an ending, or significant reduction, of international arms
sales then the domestic defence industry will need to shrink, and we will need
to support the changing of the industry to manufacturing more useful products, see
for instance the Lucas Aerospace workers’ alternative plan from 1976
3) What
implications would any changes to current policy have in terms of jobs and the
wider economy? Where jobs are lost, how could the impact best be mitigated?
It is difficult to predict the impact on jobs and the wider
economy. Defence jobs are capital
intensive and the capital released could be more productively used elsewhere,
so that with appropriate planning the overall impact could be positive.
4) How can we
combine value for money on all military spending programmes with secure and sustainably
high-skilled jobs?
By being less reliant on arms we can build up other parts of our
industrial sector to employ people currently in the arms industry.
5) How can we
protect the wider supply chain required for our domestic defence industry to flourish?
We should be reducing the defence supply chain.
Best wishes
Tom.
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