Evils of socialism have made UK too weak to fight

Telegraph:

Irwin Stelzer, a senior fellow and director of Hudson Institute's economic policy studies group, said Britain and America face the same global threats - international terrorism, nuclear weapons in the hands of North Korea and Iran, the Taliban threat in Pakistan and a resurgent Russia.

But while Britain has previously always stood shoulder to shoulder with its bigger ally on defence issues, he said, recent political decisions not to do so – apparently motivated by cost – has made the Pentagon nervous and led it to question the UK's commitment.

These decisions, he said, include the confinement of British forces to their barracks in Basra towards the end of the Iraq campaign while US troops launched a surge, and Gordon Brown's decision to turn down President Obama's request for more troops in Afghanistan, citing budgetary constraints.

...

Mr Stelzer said that while it was inevitable for all countries that budgets were squeezed during a recession, no nation could afford to undermine its security in the face of multiple global threats.

"America has an important self-interest in a reversal of Britain's current policy of starving its military in order to fund a continued expansion of its welfare state," he said. (Emphasis added.)

"If Britain does not shore up its military so that it is capable of holding up its end of the bargain implicit in the Special Relationship, that relationship will be under severe threat.

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I am glad I am not the only one complaining about the priorities of the current UK government. At some point they need to notice that socialism is making them not only weaker militarily, but economically as well.