Britain’s high military dependence on the US is “no longer tenable” and the UK has to become increasingly independent of the special relationship with Washington, a former Nato chief has said.
George Robertson, who last week accused British leaders of a “corrosive complacency” towards defence, said on Wednesday that the traditional allies were diverging over values – and that even after Donald Trump leaves the White House, the separation was likely to continue.
Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence minister and Nato secretary general, highlighted Trump’s unprovoked attack on Iran, his decision to levy tariffs on traditional allies and, “most jarringly”, he said, the threat to wrest Greenland from Denmark.
He said the diplomatic tone from the White House had “reached a historic low point” with Trump’s repeated public criticisms of the UK.
Really I don’t think nukes are a deterrent when the world is full of despotic leaders.
Trump, Netenyahu & Putin don’t give a fuck about a retaliatory strike.
No sane leader will launch a strike, so I don’t really see who nukes are meant to deter, it’s just a money pit that could be spent on just an okut anything to be more useful.
I don’t think that really tracks with what we’ve seen in Ukraine. The world tiptoed around and wasted a year of potential action because Putin threatened to use nukes. It’s still one of the main things stopping escalated allied involvement. I also doubt Russia would have invaded had Ukraine not given up its nukes.
Yeah nukes are only useful in the hands of people crazy enough to use them. The UK & France having nukes did nothing to protect Ukrainians, it’s also done nothing to dissuade Russia from carrying out attacks on British & French soil.
Maybe, or maybe the risk of nukes falling into the wrong hands is used to justify a more violent preemptive strike on Ukraine. Russia effectively used salami tactics and “rebel” troops to take Crimea without it looking like an invasion until it was too late, I don’t think the invasion of Ukraine necessarily doesn’t happen, it could have just happened in a different way.
Even Thatcher’s nukes failed to deter Argentina’s Junta, so simply having nukes doesn’t really guarantee anything.
The UK has given up over 50 territories since it developed nukes, including handing Hong Kong back to China, so I don’t really think nukes guarantee much.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_that_have_gained_independence_from_the_United_Kingdom
All we know for sure is they cost us a lot of money.
You’re right that we never really know how things will play out. That said, I don’t think anyone expected foreign nukes to defend Ukraine, especially since allies are unwilling to use conventional weapons or send troops.