Pentagon officials are said to have warned the British government that they had better not go through with plans to dramatically cut their military spending, insisting that any effort to do so could threaten the “special relationship” Britain enjoys with the United States.
In 2009 Britain spent over $69 billion on its military, the third largest expenditure on the planet. Yet with the nation facing a massive budget shortfall they are expected to dramatically reduce the size of the military, and are mulling the “merger” of parts of the Royal Navy with France to share expenses.
But a smaller British military will mean more reluctance in taking on the role of second banana in America’s military adventures. Britain’s military contribution to the NATO occupation of Afghanistan is the second largest, with only the US having contributed more.
This problem is perhaps compounded by the fact that the other major NATO powers, excluding only the US, are all looking to pare back military expenditure. For the US selling these wars as international and not unilateral endeavors is greatly dependent on having at least a modicum of international troops on the scene, and those troops seem destined to become fewer and fewer.
As the Obama Administration looks at record military expenditures and more conflicts going forward, Britain may find itself the de facto spoiler, frustrating the appearance of international support. In that sense Britain’s “special relationship” could well find itself in jeopardy.
What is this "special" relationship?
The USG sucksum in and the British sucksum off?
1) Where does the pentagon get off telling a foreign government how much money it is supposed to spend on its own military? It shouldn't even be deciding how much money it gets for itself from Washington. This shows just how powerful and warped the military-industrial complex really is.
2) Some "threat". Ending the "special relationship" would be the very best thing that could happen to Great Britain. I can't for the life of me see one single benefit the U.K. derives from playing sidekick to America's senseless imperialist wars. I guess the old habits of empire die hard.
The U. S. should not bully Briton over this.
UK special relationship with US is over, say MPs http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/28/us-uk-sp…
I think there are earlier links than this one.
So now the Pentagon not only controls the budget and dictates the policies of our government but that of the UK as well.
Hubris knows no bounds. Woe be to the world!
better watch out or the pentagon will downgrade yawl to airstrip 2
To the Brits: never forget Tea Party.all that tea wasted and the hatred of the King's imposed new tax.
These nice Americans even tried to steal Canada.
:^(
What utter chutzpah! This demonstrates to the entire world that the Pentagon is utterly insane!
Insane, yes but power-mad and powerful.
Cut the budget UK don’t listen to these people in the pentagon…listen too me. Cut it and give to the people of the need
When they run out of money, the issue will become moot
Having a "special relationship" with the USA is like dating a serial killer and being foolish enough to believe he would never harm you. If Britain is smart it will tell the USA it doesn't want a "special relationship" and then distance itself from the sinking American ship as quickly as possible. Attempting to do America's bidding is what has Britain's social structure and economy in tatters already.
"Pentagon officials are said to have warned the British government that they had better not go through with plans to dramatically cut their military spending, insisting that any effort to do so could threaten the “special relationship” Britain enjoys with the United States."
Gawd, how I HATE that expression, "special relationship." We have a "special relationship" with Israel. We have a "special relationship" with Great Britain.
Don't child molesters usually tell their victims that they have a "special relationship?" Every time I hear about anyone having a "special relationship" these days, I know it's one-sided and abusive.
British MP's! Do what's right!! Cut that military budget! F_ck the "special relationship" you now have with the US. The sooner this neo-con/American empire is brought to its knees, the better it will be for America, for Great Britain and for the world.
Special relationship in illegal wars, crimes against humanity would be broken!!!!
If the British government implementing the idea in reducing its military and its costs, that mean “lost jobs” in US military complex and tax revenue for the US government.., which in this economy climate is not good at all.., the US government hardly can coop with the present recession .., so the economy is also bad in England which is the reason for the government wanting to reduce the size of its military.., in the other hand if US wanting to invade some other country in Central Asia or Africa the British would be out of question where if that happens US is no more a world power without the NATO war machinery unless they want to replace English with French “Presidant Zarkozi” or Danish or why not Swedish.., or even better how about Iceland, but no wait there is always this neo fascist Berlusconi of Italy.
And just what will the Pentagon do if Clegg refuses to be a Blair-style poodle? Impose a Nazi-style naval blockade? Unleash a 21st-century aerial "blitz", again in the Nazi tradition? Take a page from the film V for Vendetta and poison the water supply? Bomb all the soccer stadiums?
Of course, the Israelis could do all the above themselves without any help from their puppet government in Washington.
The Pentagon has no business telling any foreign government how much it can or cannot spend on its military. U.S. military/intelligence spending is now nearly one trillion dollars per year. How much is one trillion dollars? Let us try to put that number in terms an average person can understand. One trillion dollars is the same as one million, million dollars ($1,000,000,000,000.00). Therefore, if you were given one trillion dollars and you were told to spend it at the rate of one million dollars per day it would take you one million days or 2,739 years to spend the trillion dollars. Yet, the U.S. spends one trillion dollars on its military/intelligence “budget” in just one year! This is not just outrageous or obscene, it is sheer insanity. Americans are now suffering through an economic depression that rivals the Great Depression and the entire economy is groaning under the weight of an enormous and out-of-control military/intelligence regime. CONGRESS: END THE WARS! DISMANTLE THE 750+ OVERSEAS MILITARY BASES! DISMANTLE THE EGREGIOUS DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY! CUT MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE SPENDING BY 80% NOW!
What arrogant insolence. How dare they defy the great and powerful UNITED STATES OF EMPIRE! They will pay the tribute the U.S. EMPIRE demands or else they will suffer the consequences. What do the Brits think their puny little frontier province is – a sovereign nation or something? The U.S. EMPIRE says this to the Brits and to the entire world: "Resistance is futile. You will submit!" PAX AMERICANA WILL RULE FOREVER! SIG HEIL! SIG HEIL! SIG HEIL!
It's nice to read the comments on this thread. Well said all of you! I personally hope this is actually widely reported in Europe and would urge you to send this story to anyone you know in Britain or the rest of Europe. They need to wake up to the arrogant overbearing and dangerous lunatic state that our government has become.
lets go broke together. The quickest way may be to ship military spending to Afghan trading for dope to clear the military minds.