The Other Brexit: Is Britain Done as a Strong Global Military Power?

Leo Michel

Defense, Europe

"Some saw the British as increasingly reluctant to pull their traditional weight in overseas military operations, especially in the Middle East."

Michael Fallon, the U.K. Secretary of State for Defense, visits Washington this week, where he might be forgiven for using what Gore Vidal once called "the four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so." Fallon's visit last March took place amidst media reports that the "special relationship" no longer seemed so special. U.S. officials and military officers were voicing concern over the cumulative effect of cuts in the British military following the David Cameron government's first, largely budget-driven "Strategic Defense and Security Review" (SDSR) in 2010. Speculation was rife that more trimming was on the way, even if Cameron's Conservative Party were to win the May elections. In addition, some saw the British as increasingly reluctant to pull their traditional weight in overseas military operations, especially in the Middle East. But Fallon was adamant: the United Kingdom, he told a Washington think-tank audience, has capabilities and political will that few countries can match, and it was not planning deeper defense cuts or "lowering its guard."

His confidence, it turns out, was justified.