UK Defense Secretary: Britain Must Prepare to Fight Wars Without US

Says thought keeps him awake at night

In comments to the Sunday Times, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said he believes Britain needs to diversify its military and prepare for the possibility of fighting future wars without US help.

Wallace cited Trump’s “withdrawal from Syria,” which didn’t actually end with the US leaving Syria, and Trump’s comments about wanting NATO to do more in Iraq, as evidence of US “isolationism,” saying it “keeps me awake at night.”

Despite Britain spending in the top-10 of world militaries, their force design is based on the assumption that their wars would just be US wars in which they also got involved. Indeed, that’s generally how British wars have gone down in recent generations.

Wallace’s talk of US isolation is plainly overstated, coming just days after the US very nearly got the world into a war with Iran. It is likely that the talking point, which is commonly heard in Europe, is being presented as part of an effort to get a bigger military budget.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.