On 24 September, French Minister of Defence Hervé Morin warned that European countries needed to sustain their military budgets and pool their procurements and capabilities more effectively or accept that they would eventually become a "pawn in the balance between the new powers", under the "joint dominion of China and America". A letter from UK Minister of Defence Liam Fox to Prime Minister David Cameron, leaked to The Daily Telegraph in September, contained a similar warning about how drastic proposed defence cuts, then being negotiated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), could end Britain's status as an important independent global power[.]
Yes, as I wrote recently about Britain's defense cuts:
Britain still has tradition and skill in their corner. But let's not fool ourselves that they are meaner after getting leaner. Britain may still think globally, but the size of the force that can deploy globally is close to being irrelevant as anything more than a very minor contribution to an American war effort.
Well, the British have had a good run since the Spanish Armada. Game over. They'd best hope we don't falter, for they will live or die amongst us.
