Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmament | Defence policy
The top military commanders of Britain and Germany have issued an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” justification for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia.
The duo said they made the call not only as the military leaders of Europe’s two biggest military spenders, but also “as the voices of a Europe that must confront disturbing truths about its security.”
Britain’s chief of defense staff, Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, and Germany’s defense chief, General Carsten Breuer, said Russia’s military posture was “definitely shifting westwards” and a “step change” was needed in Europe’s defense and security.
In a joint article published in the Guardian and German newspaper Die Welt after the Munich Security Conference, the soldiers said they had a duty “to explain what is at stake so the public can understand why Britain and Germany have committed to the biggest sustained increases in defense spending since the end of the Cold War”.
“There is a moral dimension to this effort. Rearmament is not warmongering; it is the responsible action of nations committed to protecting their people and preserving the peace,” they write.
There is a serious reluctance among voters in Britain and Germany to accept economic pain in exchange for rearmament; Majorities in both countries believe that a third world war is more likely than not to break out within the next five years.
fresh in britain Survey conducted by YouGov It found that a minority supported tax increases (25%) or spending cuts (24%) to provide more spending on the armed forces; This includes those who say it is crucial to increase the UK’s hard power.
The German and French public are also now less likely than last year to support increased defense budgets if it means trading them off for other investments. A poll for Politico this month.
There is an urgent need for a closer defense relationship with Europe, covering procurement and production, so that Britain can be at the center of a stronger European defense structure, British prime minister Keir Starmer said over the weekend.
“We are not the Britain of the Brexit years,” he told audiences during his visit to the Munich Security Conference, arguing that the long-term threat posed by Russia and the need for Europe to take greater responsibility for its own defense required the UK to integrate more closely with its European allies on defense procurement.
He said Europe was a “sleeping giant” but with fragmented industrial planning and procurement.
Knighton and Breuer write: “If Russia perceives Europe as weak or divided, it may be emboldened to expand its aggression beyond Ukraine. History teaches us that deterrence fails when adversaries sense division and weakness. We know that Russian aggression and intentions extend beyond Ukraine.”
Recalling the language used by government officials in Britain, Germany and other European countries, Knighton and Breuer said the complexity of the threats required “a continent-wide honest conversation with the public about how defense cannot be solely under the purview of uniformed personnel.”
They called for “defense of the whole society” with resilient infrastructure, technology research and development from the private sector, and national institutions ready to operate under increasing threats.
The UK and Germany have committed to deepening security and defense cooperation and signed the agreement known as the Trinity House Agreement in 2024.
The German government is under pressure to deliver on promises to revive economic growth after a long recession and increase defense spending amid concerns about Russian aggression.
Germany permanently deploys a combat brigade of 4,000-5,000 troops on NATO’s eastern flank and has amended its constitution to provide essentially unlimited funding for defense.
In addition to the expansion of industrial capacity, the supply of thousands of armored vehicles has also begun. Meanwhile, Britain is building six munitions factories aimed at producing what the Ministry of Defense describes as an “always on” capacity to maintain munitions stocks.
The debate over European security – three years after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and amid uncertainty over the extent of US support for NATO following Donald Trump’s return to the White House – comes as governments in both Germany and the UK seek to rebalance spending after a period of investing in a so-called “peace dividend” in public services.
At last year’s Hague summit, NATO leaders committed to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense and security by 2035.
Such a move would expand the British economy in the short term. according to researchbut there is still opposition on the Labor left to defense increases at the expense of health spending and poverty reduction. This debate is even more polarized in Germany, with opposition to increased defense spending on the left and, to a lesser extent, the AdF party on the far right.
Speaking on the opening day of the Munich conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized the threat Russia poses to Europe and warned that “freedom can no longer be guaranteed.”
“We must understand that in the age of great powers, our freedom is no longer a given. It is in danger. We will need to show resolve and determination to defend this freedom,” he said.
Merz also announced that he had held initial talks with French president Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of France joining the nuclear umbrella, underlining his call for Europe to develop a stronger, independent security strategy.
