Scrap the Armed Forces completely

so this utterly silly man says...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/08/cuts-armed-services-fantasy-enemies

"Tread softly and carry a big stick".

Still, it seems to work for Costa Rica.

i wouldnt mind seeing you out of a job though

i wouldnt mind seeing you out of a job though

ahhh, how sweet

Utterly naive with no comprehension whatsoever of current foreign affairs and defence 'modus operandii'.

****.

If every country in the world bought into this idea then it might just work.

Therein lies the problem.

Arguably we could get away with a very small army, coastal navy, no airforce but a **** off nuclear deterrent.

"Tread softly and carry a big stick".

 

Still, it seems to work for Costa Rica.

Costa Rica's army got disbanded in 1949 although they still have a small paramilitary force. In fact there are more armyless countries than you might think

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_without_armed_forces

Arguably we could get away with a very small army, coastal navy, no airforce but a **** off nuclear deterrent.

We don't need an Army wedded to the tools of the cold warn so the majority of the heavy armour can go.

We need some sort of combined Fleet Air Arm / Airforce as air superiority is a must in any conflict but the ground support variants should replace the heavy armour of the army.

The RN needs equipping for the wars of the future and not the doctrine of the past and therefore Trident can go as well.

privatise the army and let the markets decide:D that way we get a more efficient army ,mind you the article does make you think.

Costa Rica's army got disbanded in 1949 although they still have a small paramilitary force. In fact there are more armyless countries than you might think

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_without_armed_forces

Hmmm, interesting!

#Makes note of those nations as starter points for his world domination plan.#

Some one remind me, how much oil is under the Falklands? What do you suppose would be the first thing that would happen should we get rid of the armed forces? Hmm...

If defending Britain's vital national interests were geographically confined strictly to the shores of this small island - at this precise point in time - then Simon Jenkins may have point , but that's just not the case is it ?

Our long history and the vital international trade that our economy depends upon demand that we engage with the outside world where Jenkin's cosy assumptions of some benignly peaceful situation fails spectacularly to match the brutal truth of the world . The British armed forces have been (more or less) constantly in action defending our interests since the end of WWII with hardly a year passing when no servicemen have been killed in action , human nature being what is it the chances of this situation changing anytime soon are slim to none I'd say .

Without a navy would happen if a hostile state (such as Iran for instance) decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to UK shipping ? The north sea oil is running out you know .

Without a army how would we assist a commonwealth country (country's that helped save us during both world wars) facing the threat of invasion ?

With no RAF how do we provide essential air cover for the navy & army while they perform these tasks ?

With no nuclear deterrent what's to stop any future enemy with one missile dictating terms to us ?

Thinking the unthinkable is an interesting academic exercise , but leaving our national quite literally defenceless is quite literally unthinkable .

not "get rid of" i'd say more scale down. let USA fight its own battles, they're big enough.

not "get rid of" i'd say more scale down. let USA fight its own battles, they're big enough.

thats just ridiculous. In my lifetime, British foreign policy has always started with "do whatever America says" as its first principle

TBF Americans are good allies to have.

I would rather have the USA on our side than to have to EVER, even remotely go against them...

as the years pass on, the struggle for energy resources is only going to get more news..?

95% of our trade is done via the sea....how on earth our we going to protect our shipping..?

Scraping the armed forces is a dumb idea, it makes sense to drastically cut them and stay out of other country's affairs though.

Scraping the armed forces is a dumb idea, it makes sense to drastically cut them and stay out of other country's affairs though.

which, to be fair..they are probably at that level..just asked to do everything with less

Maybe he is using an extreme to make an argument. It's certainly a debate worth having. Would the country be any worse off if we halved defence spending? I don't know, but the prevailing political discourse means nobody will even consider looking at a different way.

To the person who said about privatising the military - give it a few years and the Tories just might get there.

I think it's a good idea. we live in a peaceful Europe so there is nothing to worry about in terms of invasion. This has been an incredibly stable time for all of us lucky enough to live in Europe and I think it would take one brave country to take steps towards long lasting peace and unity by showing the trust needed in getting rid of the armed forces. Any threats are from countries further afield who we are protected from by the Americans. We really don't need an armed force. Maybe a small army to stay at home and that's it. It would save the country a shed load of money, in a time when cuts are being made to vital services (like health and education - things that make a real difference to our lives) and we'd earn a fortune from selling our war ships/planes/helicopters/tanks etc to other countries. Senior soldiers can become policemen and the privates can be labourers. Sailors could be oil rig workers or fishermen or ferry operators. The RAF could become commercial pilots - so it's not like we would be destroying whole communities like the closing of coal mines did.