A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO DEFENCE
1. The publication of this White Paper fulfils the Government's manifesto commitment to conduct a foreign policy-led strategic defence review to reassess Britain's security interests and defence needs and consider how the roles, missions and capabilities of our Armed Forces should be adjusted to meet the new strategic realities.
New Strategic Realities
2. The strategic environment we face today is very different to that of the previous fifty years. The risks and challenges we face are not simply those of the Cold War minus the threat from the Warsaw Pact. It is both better and worse than that.
3. On the positive side, the collapse of Communism and the emergence of democratic states throughout Eastern Europe and in Russia means that there is today no direct military threat to the United Kingdom or Western Europe. Nor do we foresee the re-emergence of such a threat. But we cannot take this for granted. It is therefore a vital British interest that these trends should strengthen and not go into reverse.
4. Our defence policy and activity must contribute to consolidating these welcome changes and thus enhancing our security. The admission of three new democracies to NATO is a major step on this path. But we are determined that this should not lead to new divisions in Europe. NATO's Partnership for Peace and our national programme of bilateral defence co-operation have key roles in promoting and developing constructive security relationships between all the nations of Europe.
5. On the negative side, however, there are new risks to our security and our way of life.
6. During the Cold War, the East/West confrontation dominated strategic thinking in a way that produced a misleading impression of stability in large parts of the world. In part this was because that confrontation temporarily suppressed underlying tensions and problems. In part, it was because the scale of the risks involved in the Cold War obscured the potential importance of the newer style of security risks that were emerging.
7. Instability inside Europe as in Bosnia, and now Kosovo, threatens our security. Instability elsewhere - for example in Africa - may not always appear to threaten us directly. But it can do indirectly, and we cannot stand aside when it leads to massive human suffering.
8. There are still very dangerous regimes in the world. Some are well armed with conventional weapons and their armouries assume greater significance as democratic countries reduce their armaments. There is an increasing danger from the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical technologies. As Iraq has amply demonstrated, such regimes threaten not only their neighbours but vital economic interests and even international stability.
9. There are also new risks which threaten our security by attacking our way of life. Drugs and organised crime are today powerful enough to threaten the entire fabric of some societies. They certainly pose a serious threat to the well-being of our own society. We have seen new and horrifying forms of terrorism and how serious environmental degradation can cause not only immediate suffering but also dangerous instabilities. And the benefits of the information technology revolution that has swept the world are accompanied by potential new vulnerabilities.
10. The challenge now is to move from stability based on fear to stability based on the active management of these risks, seeking to prevent conflicts rather than suppress them. This requires an integrated external policy through which we can pursue our interests using all the instruments at our disposal, including diplomatic, developmental and military. We must make sure that the Armed Forces can play as full and effective a part in dealing with these new risks as the old.
Current Problems
11. It would be as wrong to take military success for granted in this new environment as it would have been during the Cold War. We have therefore taken a hard look at the capabilities of today's Armed Forces. The so-called 'peace dividend' from the ending of the Cold War has already been taken. Since 1990, defence expenditure has fallen by some 23% in real terms and our forces have been cut by nearly a third. Yet over this period we have faced a series of new and largely unexpected operational challenges. Our Armed Forces have responded outstandingly but they face serious problems that carry increasing risks in relation to the changed pattern of operations. There are personnel shortages in important areas, which with the high level of operational commitments are creating excessive and unsustainable pressures on many of our people. Other areas of weakness include the extent of our rapid deployment capabilities and our ability to sustain and support overseas operations, including medical support.
Looking Ahead
12. Defence planning is a long term business. Major equipments take years to develop and typically have lives of twenty five years or more. Events since the fall of the Berlin Wall - just nine years ago - show that the political and strategic world can change radically within such timescales. History reminds us that this can be for the worse as well as the better. Social and technological transformation has also been rapid and we can expect this to continue, affecting both our daily lives and the role of our Armed Forces over the next twenty years. We need to take account of such changes and exploit them wherever we can to ensure not only that our forces are as capable and cost-effective as possible but also that they continue to be valued by our society and to provide rewarding careers.
The Aim of the Review
13. Defence serves the aims of foreign and security policy. The Government's manifesto sets out a broad vision of Britain's role: strong in defence; resolute in standing up for our own interests and as an advocate of human rights and democracy the world over; a reliable and powerful ally; and a leader in Europe and the international community.
14. Defence can provide a wide range of tools to support these aims. The purpose of the Review was not only to meet the challenges of today's complex international scene but also to provide the flexibility to respond to those we may face well into the new century.
15. We cannot predict the future but if we are to meet it confidently we must have a clear long term view of our objectives and how we expect defence to contribute to them. The Review therefore considers our defence requirements in the period to 2015. We must also show our people that they are getting good value for money for what they spend on defence. For these reasons the Government wishes to achieve a broad national consensus on defence and has consulted widely in the course of the Review.
16. The Strategic Defence Review aims to provide the country with modern, effective and affordable Armed Forces which meet today's challenges but are also flexible enough to adapt to change. It provides a vision for the modernisation of Britain's defence into the 21st century. Its theme is 'Modern Forces for the Modern World'.
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