THE Rt Hon GEORGE ROBERTSON MP
1. At the beginning of the Strategic Defence Review, I said that I wanted our conclusions "to have been formed and tested in a wider forum". The result was a unique process of consultation with the widest possible range of expertise in defence and related areas. This was the most open re-examination of Britain's defence ever conducted.
2. Throughout the Review, I have been determined to extend the principle of openness, to reflect this Government's commitment to open Government and to encourage informed debate on all aspects of our defence policy. The Strategic Defence Review White Paper sets out the main themes of our work and the main conclusions we have reached. It cannot, however, address issues or explain the background to our conclusions in great detail.
3. I have therefore commissioned this volume of essays, which fills in these details for the key strands of the Review. It is not comprehensive; our work covered so much ground that this would be impossible. But it does address what I believe to be the main aspects of this work. In some respects, including the essay on the policy framework, it reflects very closely the papers considered by Ministers. I am also taking this opportunity to publish for the first time the Ministry of Defence's objectives.
4. The Strategic Defence Review set out to provide Britain's Armed Forces with a new sense of clarity, coherence and consensus. This volume of essays will, I believe, demonstrate how we achieved our goal and contribute towards a much wider shared vision of Britain's security needs.
George Robertson
Ministry of Defence
July 1998
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