Liam Fox goes to war against defense budget cuts

(BRUXELLES2) Liam Fox did not go there by four paths. In the letter that the Minister of Defense sent to Prime Minister James Cameron, and published by the daily telegraph, on September 28, he complains about the turn of the budget cuts Frankly, the current process looks less and less like a strategic review of security and defense and more like a super CSR - global expenditure review »

Clearly we are not concerned with strategy but just with cutting expenses. " If we continue on this path, it could have serious political consequences for us. —adds Liam Fox. The parties, media, military and international reaction will be brutal if we do not recognize the dangers and continue to push for such draconian cuts even as we are at war. ". Prime Minister Cameron has asked the Minister of Defense to provide him with tougher proposals than hitherto. The Minister of Defense therefore defends, step by step, his capabilities.

The fight against terrorism compromised and withdrawal from many areas of the globe

These reductions require drastic choices. " Without surface ships, it will be necessary to withdraw from the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean or the Gulf ". Without amphibious boats, no more operation " like in Sierra Leone ". " Our armed forces will have to be significantly smaller and narrower and deployed, without the protection of vehicles or artillery.. Without the Nimrod MR4, the fight against terrorism at sea is seriously compromised. There will be " no rapid deployment of maritime forces in high risk areas” and the Falklands reinforcement plan is cancelled. Added to this the lack of capabilities available to civil emergencies such as " foot-and-mouth disease, the fight against forest fires, attacks such as in Mombai, and the 2012 Olympics ". As for the morale of the troops, the Minister considers that it cannot be " underestimated ».

In short for Liam Fox, the table of cuts is black. And it's time to stop making cuts for fun and have some Coherence».

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)