A warning has been issued by members of parliament (MPs) and an ex-senior NATO advisor that the United Kingdom can no longer depend on the United States to protect its interests and therefore must take steps to prepare for possible conflict. There are no longer any security guarantees being provided to the UK by US President Donald Trump's America First doctrine like what had existed with past US administrations over many years.
The expectation that the United States would react in a timely manner to a Russian military incursion into a NATO member state has been stated to be āno longer applicableā, and as such, represents an important phase in the life of the post-World War II international order being completed. The expectation that the United States would react in a timely manner to a Russian military incursion into a NATO member state under Article 5 is stated to be "no longer valid" and has now put the "final nail in the coffin" to the post-Second World War settlement.
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'Britain must prepare for the worst'
According to Civitas, the publisher of the report, the rules-based international system was "effectively dead" and that Britain must now be prepared for the worst; that the US will no longer count as a dependable ally, but instead will likely have their own singular viewpoint to follow within international relations.
The report, titled Understanding the UK's Transition to Warfighting Readiness, was written by MPs Bernard Jenkins, Derek Twigg and the former senior Nato adviser Chris Donnelly.
'US not acting within framework...'
"Today's US is not only no longer acting within the framework and constrains of its traditional alliances, it is already acting in a manner which can be perceived as being contrary to the interests of some of its allies.
President Trump, it seems is even looking towards Russia as a potential business partner; the Kremlin and the White House appear to be quietly normalising commercial and diplomatic relations," the Civitas report stated.
'UK should invest in latest technological developments'
They also criticised the UK's "sclerotic" processes, which have remained unchanged for 70 years of peace and prosperity.
In a preface to this study, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, former NATO Secretary General and head of Labour's recent defence review, stated, "The United Kingdom is under-prepared and under attack."
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The report suggests that the government should invest in the latest technological developments to enable frontline personnel to make more precise responses, enhance cyber security and establish new international relationships, such as with India.
"New forms of governance and the development of a war-capable political process are well overdue," the report further claims.
The authors claim that the new strategic defence review did not acknowledge that "in many respects we are on the potential cusp of war and that kinetic war may come to us when we least expect it, sooner rather than later".
With Britain's army continuing to shrink from approximately 70,000 regular troops, allied nations are concerned that there will be too few troops to conduct a defensive operation successfully.
The authors voiced concern about how education and civil society will help prepare the country and they propose that the entire nation mobilise with flexible governance for a unified effort towards the goal of avoiding a national catastrophe.
