| Naturalmoney.org the plan for the future |
October 18, 2010 Author: Eric Margolis Taken from: Khaleej Times - Last symbol of British empire begins to sink Britain’s Royal Navy ruled the waves until World War II, 25 per cent of the earth’s surface. There are few more glorious epochs in history than the stirring saga the Royal Navy. What red-blood young man would not thrill to the victories of Hawk, Drake, Grenville, Anson, Nelson, or of Beatty at Jutland, of whom Churchill said, “he is the only man who could lose the war in one afternoon.” Who can forget the life-and-death hunt for the mighty “Bismarck,” the loss of the famed “Hood,” or the heartbreaking sinking of “Repulse” and “Prince of Wales” off Singapore? Britain had 900 warships in 1945. There was not an ocean, sea, estuary or navigable river that was immune to the Royal Navy’s power. Britain’s “Senior Service” was the ultimate strategic weapon of world domination. Today, that weapon is the United States Air Force. This week, the Royal Navy faces the most perilous engagement in its splendid history, and one from which it may not emerge victorious. What Spanish and French cannon balls, and German 15in shells failed to accomplish, the pens of London’s bean counters may achieve – scuppering the Royal Navy and sending its finest vessels to the breaker’s yards. The Navy’s budget is reportedly to be cut by at least 10 per cent, perhaps far more. Britain’s new Conservative-LiberalDem coalition of David Cameron and Nick Clegg vow to slash the monstrous deficit it inherited from the former Blair-Brown Labour government that left Britain drowning in red ink. Cameron has spoken of 20-25 per cent cuts across the board. New aircraft carriers and submarines may be cancelled or sharply reduced. His full draconian budget out next week, is sure to produce howls of protests from Land’s End to John o’Groats. Britain, whose debt-inflated economy may be smaller than Italy’s, has a navy worthy of a world power, second only in strength and power projection capability to the United States Navy. The Royal Navy deploys nuclear-powered submarines with US Trident nuclear-tipped missiles, and has ordered 65,000-ton aircraft carriers to carry the new, US F-35 STOL vertical takeoff fighter. Add nuclear-powered attack subs, modern frigates, attack transports an extensive logistical support fleet and 7,500 crack Royal Marines.Smashing! But what’s it all for? Britons face sharp cuts to their health and welfare benefits. Imperial naval grandeur has become unaffordable. PM Cameron has been battling over defence cuts with die-hard right-wingers in his cabinet. Defence Secretary Dr. Liam Fox, Britain’s leading neoconservative, has bitterly opposed Cameron’s defence cuts. The prime minister just humiliated Fox this week in a stinging public rebuke. That other and bigger half of the famed US-UK “special relationship,” the United States undiplomatically treated Briton like a misbehaving banana republic as State Secretary Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates openly rebuked and scolded London for its proposed defence cuts. Two points to be made here. First, Britain’s spending cuts are not coming in “defence” – since no one is threatening the British Isles. As the former head of MI5 Internal Security recently testified, the only threat to Britain was so-called terrorist attacks, the result of its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. The only nations building real blue-water navies these days are China and India. So with no external threat, the only use for Britain’s fleet is offensively, as an auxiliary to the US Navy. That’s why Clinton and Gates were so miffed. Britain’s fleet, RAF, and soldiers are the key component of America’s imperial forces in the Third World. Take away the tough Brits, and the US is left with Italians, Estonians, Poles and other rent-an-armies. The US Navy budget is bigger than France’s total military budget. Prime Minister Cameron deserves high praise for admitting that Britain was a balloon of debt with pretensions way beyond its economic or military power. Britons need decent hospitals and un-crashing trains far more than jolly little wars in remote places. Second, Cameron’s goring of Britain’s most sacred cow leaves Washington odd man out with a monstrously bloated imperial military establishment that this bankrupt nation can no longer afford. The Pentagon’s annual budget is nearly $1 trillion – half the world’s total military spending. Worse, this trillion dollars is not raised by taxes, as it should be, but borrowed from China and Japan. The world’s greatest naval power is also the world’s biggest debtor. Eric Margolis is a veteran US journalist |