Following the terror alert at the weekend, there is widespread speculation President Obama will order more drone strikes on Yemen to tackle the threat posed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Such a strategy, however, may cause more problems and result in an even greater threat.
Labour MEPs voted against the overall call for a budget increase and against a host of outrageous calls to increase spending. But it gets far more interesting than that. For all their bluster Conservative MEPs failed to table a single amendment to the final budget package that would have resulted in a reduction in spending against 2010 levels. It was left to Labour members to propose cuts of more than €1bn to wasteful agricultural subsidies.
Forced to walk a path between support for the troops and reporting the evidence emanating from theatre, most outlets chose to portray the lack of resources in terms they understood and thought their audiences would too.
Last week, the new National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review gave conflict prevention a high priority, and committed more resources to addressing instability in fragile states as far upstream as possible to save both lives and money down the line; this week, ippr publishes its own review of the lessons to be learned from conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
This morning’s reports that the nuclear submarine HMS Astute has run aground off the Isle of Skye ends a week of dire news for the Royal Navy, which saw its aircraft carrier capability and its maritime air assets slashed in Tuesday’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR).
Guest writer Adam Short, of the Young Fabians, argues that the ring-fencing of UK aid in the spending review is right and in the country’s interest.
The commitment to ring fence UK aid and reach 0.7 per cent of GDP is welcome, and a testament to the hard work of many Labour MPs in the last Government.
David Cameron today launched a Strategic Defence Review he described as “more thoughtful, more strategic and more co-ordinated” than it’s 1998 predecessor.
Britain’s new National Security Strategy clearly lays out the paradigms within which the Army must conceptualise future conflicts, writes Capt. Patrick Bury.
The Nat. Sec. Strategy places welcome emphasis on the need for enhanced cyber-security & greater focus on overseas conflict prevention, writes ippr’s Andy Hull.
