The Government has announced a strategic defence review, the first since 1998, to take place after the next election. This green paper aims to contribute to discussion of the key issues and to build a broad consensus on the direction to take. It sets out the assessment of the UK's interests, the changing international context in which they will be promoted, the use of force in this changing context, and key areas where there is a need to adjust policy and process. The core argument is that the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces must accelerate the process of reform. Processes, people and equipment must become more adaptable to confront the potential threats successfully. And the UK must improve its ability to operate in partnership across government and internationally.…
"Yes, a bit geeky this one. This is an MOD green paper pre-empting the white paper and it’s a very clear and concise document about the politics of war. We are a trading nation and we will go to war to keep our trading routes clear. Alan Greenspan said we went to war in Iraq for the oil, and he was right. The fuel is coming on line now (the army is getting a deal for something like five pence a litre) and, though Basra is never going to be a day out in Margate, things have calmed down because people are making money. It’s about the freedom of goods, services and information and to secure our food and resources. That’s the way we do it. We don’t send in the gunships any more, but we go into joint operations with America because they have the same doctrine as us. We are in Afghanistan because we need stability in the region – there is the Caspian Sea up north and the oil pipeline heading west into Turkey. And the Pakistani soldiers facing India, of course. That’s why the US refer to it as the AfPak situation, not just Afghanistan. Karachi is now virtually under sharia law and the influence of the Taliban is a real problem. Russia and China are worried – that’s why Russia went into Afghanistan. To stabilise the borders. People say that nobody has ever won in Afghanistan but no one, including the Brits, has ever been there with the purpose of taking the country. “People say that nobody has ever won in Afghanistan but no one, including the Brits, has ever been there with the purpose of taking the country.” The McChrystal doctrine is really starting to work –training up a credible army and police force. It’s working better with the army. But [General] McChrystal has gripped it. Brilliant. The political situation is still a problem though – with a weak and corrupt government who are football mad and have said they’d rather watch Chelsea than deal with the problems. President Karzai is known as the Mayor of Kabul – he’s weak. And the drugs trade is still going strong, you can buy heroin for $200 a kilo in the countryside, double in Kabul. It needs sorting out. Two years ago they had the best crop they’ve ever had, but if you took it away they’d all join the Taliban. They fight for money. It’s about money. Yeah. Bush used to pay the Taliban to keep the yield low, but that’s all over now. Colin Powell said: ‘We can shower you with money or we can shower you with bombs.’"
