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Post by Frenchie on Sept 15, 2009 20:05:01 GMT 1
The government should consider carrying out more frequent strategic defence reviews to keep pace with constantly shifting global security threats, the defence secretary said on Tuesday. Bob Ainsworth said Afghanistan would remain a priority and suggested major adjustments in defence spending could not be ruled out, although he did not say where cuts would occur. The government announced in July that a strategic defence review would be held shortly after the next parliament is elected, with an election due before June next year. The last review took place in 1998 when Cold War thinking was still the order of the day. Ainsworth said the pace of change in the past decade had been considerable and more frequent reviews should be enshrined in legislation. "The growing trend in warfare is likely to be complexity, whether at sea or on land or in the air, or in all probability an interdependent combination of all three," Ainsworth told academics at King's College, London, during a speech to kick off a consultation process ahead of the defence review. Ainsworth's pledge matches a similar commitment from the Conservatives, who are widely expected to win the election, ousting Labour after 12 years in power. Liam Fox, the Conservative spokesman on defence issues, said his party would hold defence reviews every four to five years. More >>
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