The House of Commons Defence Committee moves at a stately pace. Two weeks back, it gave us its considered view on the British military campaign in southern Afghanistan – a
report which might have been quite useful a couple of years ago. Today it has published its verdict
on October’s National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review – nine months after their launch, with many of the decisions now irreversible, and with MPs and much of
the media on holiday.
The headline findings are not surprising, but make for bracing reading nonetheless. They are summarised on the front page of the Telegraph: the SDSR was a rushed exercise, driven by money rather than strategy, and the cuts will leave our armed forces struggling “to do all that is asked of them”, will reduce our international influence, and could jeopardise our national security.
The report also identifies the incoherence in the Government’s position on the crucial question of whether Britain is entering a period of “strategic shrinkage”.
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