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Comments by chief of British armed forces' general staff, General Peter Wall, and former army chief general Michael Jackson have raised serious questions about Britain's ability to get involved in any military adventurism.
Indeed, their remarks suggest Britain cannot even handle the Malvinas (Falklands) in case of an Argentinean attack due to low army morale, exposing the emptiness of British threats.
Wall told the British army's in-house magazine the Soldier that staff cuts, pension reforms and low accommodation quality are taking their toll on the armed forces morale, leaving the army short of essential military equipment and soldiers frustrated and unsettled.
“I appreciate that this is unsettling for many. During this early period of transition, I recognise that gaps are appearing as redundancy bites,” he said.
This comes as earlier this week Jackson warned it would be impossible for Britain to reclaim the Malvinas if Argentina can only seize the British airfield on the South Atlantic islands, as British armed forces cannot react in the same manner as they did during the 1982 war with Argentina.
Jackson specifically cited the cuts in the number of Harrier jets, operating from aircraft carriers, as the reason saying their removal from the Royal Air Force fleet strip Britain of marine-based air strikes.
Yet, Wall's comments show there is more to the issue than axing of the Harrier fleet, that is Britain has lost its strike power to handle a tiny archipelago of 3,000 people still less attacking Iran.
The British Ministry of Defense has to deal with £38 billion of debts and is set to cut an overall 30,000 positions to cope with the budget shortfall.
According to Jackson the measures see the army shrink to it “smallest” since “the Napoleonic wars.”
It serves as a suggestion that the spending cuts undermine the British armed forces' to a degree unseen since they secured their last major wins on the battlefields.
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