Hard Left? As his almost touching faith in NATO demonstrates, the former Chief Whip, Nick Brown, is Hardly Left. Yet he writes:
It is not possible to envisage a situation where
Britain would, independently, use its nuclear weapons system without the
support of our NATO allies.
In the instance that Britain did use nuclear weapons,
international law dictates that this would be in response to nuclear weapons
being used against us, in which case the Trident system would have failed to
have fulfilled its main purpose; that of a deterrent.
Our membership of NATO
provides us with collective protection under its nuclear umbrella, with the
Trident system acting as an unnecessary duplicate of this.
The nature of international politics is changing.
The threats faced today are not the same as in the second half of the 20th
century. International instability is caused by factors such as terrorism,
cyberwarfare, economic, political and social upheaval, as well as environmental
issues.
Many of these are key development issues which pose a threat to
international security. An independent nuclear deterrent does nothing to
address any of these factors. It distracts attention and diverts resources from
the real challenges facing the world today and in the future.
In the current economic circumstances, and with
large cuts to government budgets including the defence budget, it is difficult
to justify spending nearly £100bn on a new nuclear weapons system, which we
cannot use, which does not protect Britain from the threats to international
security today and which does nothing to address these.
Britain under the Labour Government can rightly,
and proudly, make claim to have played a leading role in promoting the
international development agenda, both domestically and internationally. This
helped to raise Britain’s standing on the world stage and increase our respect
and influence abroad. ‘Soft’ power is an increasingly important aspect of
international relations.
By making a commitment to non-renewal of our
independent nuclear weapons system and increasing our attention to new and
emerging threats, Britain (and the Labour Party) can remain at the forefront of
the international development cause, as well as taking a forward-thinking
approach to our own defence and security policy.
By non-renewal of our independent nuclear weapons
system, Britain will be setting an example to other nations who are either
developing or aspire to have nuclear weapons. It would allow Britain to play a
leading role in securing new nuclear weapons free zones, including in Africa
and the Middle East.
We should be realistic about the capacity for the UK to
project military power across the globe and make greater efforts to lead by
example rather than through force and coercion.
The best way of achieving this
would be through making a clear statement of intent through non-renewal of Trident
and a redefinition of our defence and security policy towards new and emerging
threats, including the need to address development issues which span national
borders.
You don't know what the Left is-you just called Blairites "Right wing".
ReplyDeleteThe man who increased the public sector by 800,000 workers-and doubled NHS and education spending.
Peter Hitchens would have a belly laugh at that joke.
Please try Tweeting at Peter that you think Blair was "right wing"-I promise he'll reply to you.
It'll be hilarious to watch.
Boy, you are clueless.
He and I communicate by other means, dear boy.
ReplyDeleteBy telepathy?
ReplyDeleteWe are frequently on the same wavelength, yes.
ReplyDeleteAbout Trident, for example.