Britain’s Defense Review

Ted Bromund / July 13, 2009

On Tuesday, the British Government announced that it is beginning a process that will lead to a Defense Review in 2010. The review will take place in two parts. First, a Green Paper will assess the purposes and conduct of British defense policy. Then, after the general election, a broader defense review, with cost estimates, will be published.

There is no question: Britain needs a defense review. It has not had one since 1998. And though that review has been supplemented several times post-9/11, it was never as coherent a statement of defense doctrine as legend has made it out to be. But there are many questions to be asked about this announcement, both on form and substance. The Labour Party is extremely likely to lose the next election, which must be held by June 2010. If Labour publishes its Green Paper before the election, as it proposes, will the Conservatives be committed to it, explicitly or implicitly? How can the Conservatives be so committed, since (more…)