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No. 461725
Anonymous
9th December 2023 Saturday 2:45 pm
461725

Let's have a proper men In sheds type of discussion then shall we. I bet it's one you lot will have a good bit to say about.
What do you think the UK's realistic military capabilities are in current year? Is the UK still a significant global player? Or are our resources even adequate to defend the island from our potential enemies?
I've come across a few discussions on other places and it seems like there's a bit of a polarised opinion here. There's a lot who seem to think that while obviously, the US, Russia and China dwarf us in terms of size, we're still one of the hardest countries around, punching well above our weight. But that feels to me like a cope. To me it looks like we've cut our military just about as near to the bone as we can while still being able to say we have one, and that if we should ever have to defend ourselves, we might find ourselves in pretty deep shit.
Moreover, as an island nation that still aspires to global reach and influence, could we really back that up if push came to shove? If Ukraine went hot, how much help could we really give (discounting nuclear armageddon, obviously)? If the Aregntinians decided they fancy a rematch, do we still have the capability to respond? What if China went mad and invaded Australia, would we have their back?
Obviously, there's people who believe we should spend even less on the armed forces, and that's fair, but for the sake of the discussion let's assume we're talking about the military in terms of a fundamentally necessary arm of the state, in terms of defending ourselves and ensuring we can uphold obligations to our allies. What do you reckon?
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