Say what you like about Donald Trump’s more outlandish policies, such as walling off the Mexican border or trying to bar entry to the US for nationals travelling from seven Muslim countries. The one area where it is hard to dispute the merits of the president’s approach is in the realm of national security...
Donald Trump is right: we need to spend more on guns and less on aid
Con Coughlin
28 February 2017
The Telegraph
21 Comments
Theresa May should take a leaf out of Donald Trump's book and increase defence spending Credit: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea/REUTERS
Say what you like about Donald Trump’s more outlandish policies, such as walling off the Mexican border or trying to bar entry to the US for nationals travelling from seven Muslim countries. The one area where it is hard to dispute the merits of the president’s approach is in the realm of national security.
Mr Trump may have experienced some initial difficulties filling key positions, with General Michael Flynn, his original choice for National Security Advisor, being forced to resign over his dealings with the Russian Embassy in Washington.
But Mr Trump’s determination to rebuild America’s military strength following the years of decline under the Obama administration is as welcome as it is overdue. And it also sends a signal to America’s allies – and that includes Britain – that they, too, need to raise their game or risk losing the protection afforded by the world’s undisputed military superpower.
To put this into perspective, the extra $54 billion (£43 billion) Mr Trump intends to spend on reviving America’s military forces is more than Britain’s entire defence budget. (Our defence spending will be around £38 billion this year.)
Mr Trump intends to spend that extra cash on recruiting an additional 60,000 soldiers, 12,000 marines and acquiring at least another 100 combat aircraft. The US Navy will see the number of ships at its disposal rise from 274 to 350.
This is the equivalent of adding the entire strength of Britain’s Armed Forces to the US military. In fact, when you look at the current size of the Royal Navy, which has just 19 warships, you get some idea of the deep and growing gulf between the strength of the US military and its European allies.
Moreover, Mr Trump says he intends to fund the increase by reallocating funds from the “soft power” resources so favoured by Barack Obama, such as foreign aid. It is all part of what the president calls his policy of “peace through strength”, where America’s enemies are dissuaded from undertaking acts of aggression through fear of the overwhelming military response they might provoke, rather than promises of educational scholarships as a reward for good behaviour.
Just how Congress, where many Republicans are concerned about the president’s lavish spending plans, will respond to Mr Trump’s initiative remains to be seen. But the principle of redirecting funds from soft power options such as foreign aid to strengthening the military is one that our Government would do well to consider.
The Trump administration’s shift from soft to hard power will certainly put it at odds with Britain’s defence policy, where the emphasis is currently on the use of avoiding military options at all costs.
Britain’s obsession with maintaining the foreign aid budget at 0.7 per cent of GDP is one of the few legacies that survives the Cameron-Osborne era. Keen to distance themselves from the political controversies surrounding Britain’s involvement in the military campaigns in Iraq and Libya, they opted to make foreign aid their main priority while implementing drastic cuts to the nation’s military strength. Though never articulated in public, the aim of the architects of the disastrous 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review was to ensure that Britain avoided future military entanglements through the simple expedient of not having the military strength to do so.
The result is that we now have the bizarre situation where we are giving foreign aid to countries that do not want it – India’s High Commissioner to London recently declared his country does not need the hundreds of millions of pounds Britain gives it each year – while the military is struggling to repair the appalling damage it suffered during the Cameron-Osborne era.
Ministers insist steps are under way to plug some of the more blatant gaps in our capabilities, pointing out that £178 billion will be spent on new kit over the next decade. But a recent analysis by the respected International Institute for Strategic Studies infuriated ministers by claiming total defence spending in Britain has fallen below the 2 per cent of GDP level required for Nato membership (although the MoD has denied it). That’s deeply embarrassing for the Government, especially as Mr Trump has made it explicitly clear that he expects Washington’s allies to pay their fair share.
With senior officers in all three Armed Services saying they are struggling to overcome severe manpower and equipment shortages, a simple solution would be for the Government to ditch its foreign aid commitment and divert some of the money to strengthen the military. Our aid budget is around £12 billion a year; I’m told an extra £5 billion would go a long way to restoring the Armed Forces to their pre-Cameron strength.
Mr Trump has shown the way. Theresa May would be well-advised to follow his lead.
Donald Trump is right: we need to spend more on guns and less on aid
Donald Trump is right: we need to spend more on guns and less on aid
Con Coughlin
28 February 2017
The Telegraph
21 Comments
Theresa May should take a leaf out of Donald Trump's book and increase defence spending Credit: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea/REUTERS
Say what you like about Donald Trump’s more outlandish policies, such as walling off the Mexican border or trying to bar entry to the US for nationals travelling from seven Muslim countries. The one area where it is hard to dispute the merits of the president’s approach is in the realm of national security.
Mr Trump may have experienced some initial difficulties filling key positions, with General Michael Flynn, his original choice for National Security Advisor, being forced to resign over his dealings with the Russian Embassy in Washington.
But Mr Trump’s determination to rebuild America’s military strength following the years of decline under the Obama administration is as welcome as it is overdue. And it also sends a signal to America’s allies – and that includes Britain – that they, too, need to raise their game or risk losing the protection afforded by the world’s undisputed military superpower.
To put this into perspective, the extra $54 billion (£43 billion) Mr Trump intends to spend on reviving America’s military forces is more than Britain’s entire defence budget. (Our defence spending will be around £38 billion this year.)
Mr Trump intends to spend that extra cash on recruiting an additional 60,000 soldiers, 12,000 marines and acquiring at least another 100 combat aircraft. The US Navy will see the number of ships at its disposal rise from 274 to 350.
This is the equivalent of adding the entire strength of Britain’s Armed Forces to the US military. In fact, when you look at the current size of the Royal Navy, which has just 19 warships, you get some idea of the deep and growing gulf between the strength of the US military and its European allies.
Moreover, Mr Trump says he intends to fund the increase by reallocating funds from the “soft power” resources so favoured by Barack Obama, such as foreign aid. It is all part of what the president calls his policy of “peace through strength”, where America’s enemies are dissuaded from undertaking acts of aggression through fear of the overwhelming military response they might provoke, rather than promises of educational scholarships as a reward for good behaviour.
Just how Congress, where many Republicans are concerned about the president’s lavish spending plans, will respond to Mr Trump’s initiative remains to be seen. But the principle of redirecting funds from soft power options such as foreign aid to strengthening the military is one that our Government would do well to consider.
The Trump administration’s shift from soft to hard power will certainly put it at odds with Britain’s defence policy, where the emphasis is currently on the use of avoiding military options at all costs.
Britain’s obsession with maintaining the foreign aid budget at 0.7 per cent of GDP is one of the few legacies that survives the Cameron-Osborne era. Keen to distance themselves from the political controversies surrounding Britain’s involvement in the military campaigns in Iraq and Libya, they opted to make foreign aid their main priority while implementing drastic cuts to the nation’s military strength. Though never articulated in public, the aim of the architects of the disastrous 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review was to ensure that Britain avoided future military entanglements through the simple expedient of not having the military strength to do so.
The result is that we now have the bizarre situation where we are giving foreign aid to countries that do not want it – India’s High Commissioner to London recently declared his country does not need the hundreds of millions of pounds Britain gives it each year – while the military is struggling to repair the appalling damage it suffered during the Cameron-Osborne era.
Ministers insist steps are under way to plug some of the more blatant gaps in our capabilities, pointing out that £178 billion will be spent on new kit over the next decade. But a recent analysis by the respected International Institute for Strategic Studies infuriated ministers by claiming total defence spending in Britain has fallen below the 2 per cent of GDP level required for Nato membership (although the MoD has denied it). That’s deeply embarrassing for the Government, especially as Mr Trump has made it explicitly clear that he expects Washington’s allies to pay their fair share.
With senior officers in all three Armed Services saying they are struggling to overcome severe manpower and equipment shortages, a simple solution would be for the Government to ditch its foreign aid commitment and divert some of the money to strengthen the military. Our aid budget is around £12 billion a year; I’m told an extra £5 billion would go a long way to restoring the Armed Forces to their pre-Cameron strength.
Mr Trump has shown the way. Theresa May would be well-advised to follow his lead.
Donald Trump is right: we need to spend more on guns and less on aid
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