2011 in review: Muddy outlook stains mixed year for British military

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In this, the first of Defence Dateline Group's three-part review of 2011, Tom Wein discusses the role of the British military. 

The turbulence of 2011 has not left the British military untouched. Here, Defence Dateline reviews an eventful year for the three services and their political masters.

Of Iraqi sands and exit plans

On 22^nd May, the final handful of British troops left Iraq, and Operation Telic was closed. Its effects, though, have reverberated during the year, and will rumble on for some time to come. The Army is still rebuilding its confidence after humiliation in Basra, and is doubly determined to ‘win’ Afghanistan as a result. The political rifts it caused still plague the Labour Party; at this year’s party conference in September, party members booed the mention of their most successful electoral leader ever.

Indeed the human cost has sundered many families: 179 British dead, and perhaps 5,970 casualties according to work done by Casualty Monitor, quite apart from the civilian and allied losses. Perhaps the longest stain will be the moral one: first, Britain was perceived as having launched an aggressive war in the Middle East, and then as years have progressed, allegations of mistreatment have sounded a drumbeat of shame. In September, the inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa blamed “corporate failure” for the use of illegal interrogation methods, while on 22^nd November, 100 Iraqis won the right to have their own allegations of torture and abuse examined by a more independent body. As lead claimant Ali Zaki Mousa explained: "When we suffered a lot under the British Army and witnessed a catalogue of abuses, we had the impression that that is what Britain is." These things will last.

Just as Iraq was shunted from the headlines by Afghanistan in 2009, so that conflict has been pushed aside by economic strife at home in 2011. Though 9,500 troops remain in the country, attention has begun to shift towards exit. Public weariness and a swathe of foreign policy events elsewhere have helped the trend. 2011, then, has been the year of fast-diminishing hopes for Afghanistan. Talk of women’s rights and development has all but disappeared from the speeches of the Prime Minister and his foreign policy team, replaced by hard thinking on acceptable compromises with our enemies and allies. 2012 will be a year of frantic training of Afghan soldiers, in the hope that they will be able to defend most of the country, or at the least police the district centres of Helmand and Kandahar.

Libyan successes…….and the SDSR

Libya constituted less depressing news for the British military. In March 2011, Britain led the way (with France) in calling for intervention to protect the people of Benghazi, and for its diplomats to build a coalition and pass a Security Council Resolution. Despite hiccups and challenges, the operation was in many ways a textbook example of a limited intervention. With Muammar Gaddafi gone, Libyans are now in a position to rebuild the country on democratic foundations, an outcome that depended to a great extent on British leadership and military prowess. For the British armed forces, Libya constitutes perhaps the brightest spot of a long year.

Such a result is perhaps surprising, considering the severe upheaval being wrought on the MOD at home. At the end of last year, the government published its Strategic Defence and Security Review, which sought to accommodate the twin demands of national security and economic headwinds. As part of that, some 7,500 soldiers were due to be cut from the Army; in 2011, that number has crept up, first to 12,500 and now stands at 16,500.

Despite cries of dismay, the HMS Ark Royal was finally decommissioned on 11^th March 2011, while on 26^th January the cancelled Nimrod MRA4 aircraft were destroyed. With major cuts to equipment and personnel across the services, this year has seen the debate about armed forces capabilities move beyond body armour and helicopters, onto a question of whether the overall capacity exists to meet Britain’s ambitions. Questions over the wisdom of preserving the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier program amid so many cuts have continued throughout the year. Within the Army, debates about the proper structure are similarly ongoing; the original plan for 5 multi-role brigades seems unlikely to survive, while a planned increase in the use of training & advisory missions is still being digested by generals.

The shaming of Liam Fox

In straightened circumstances, the British military must do much with little if it is to serve the nation’s needs. Severe mismanagement of procurement in recent years has not augured well, and the sharp criticisms of ministers this year have at times made them sound more like opposition frontbenchers. A partnership was formed between the strong-minded Liam Fox and Ursula Brennan, the tough permanent secretary at the MOD; the two spearheaded the reforms of the department, managing to win the respect of senior figures in uniform even while cutting their forces. After annual changes in leadership through much of the Labour government, the military also welcomed a minister who seemed to actually want the job.

This reform project was interrupted, though, in October. The Defence Secretary was forced to resign after a flood of allegations over improprieties in his relationship with friend Adam Werrity, and suggestions that Mr Fox had been conducting an independent foreign policy along neo-conservative lines. His replacement, Phillip Hammond, is said to be an effective minister, committed to continuing his predecessor’s task. The next year will show whether he has the standing, both within his department and in the Cabinet, to do so.

The year in review

2011 then seems to mark the closure of a chapter. Libya – an unusually clear-cut emergency operation – may well be the last of a series of far-flung interventions that have typified the British military’s role in the period between the end of the Cold War and the start of the Global Financial Crisis. Much of the year has been spent dealing with the fallout of previous conflicts, attempting to bring them to a close while putting in place a future force adapted to a more limited role in world affairs. The prospect is not a heartening one, but the British military and its political leaders may take some pride in having come through such a year with a plan.

Contributor:   Defence Dateline Group

Defence Dateline Group

Internal UK and European defence analytics

For military decision makers, industry stakeholders and the fighting men and women of Europe, understanding the state of European defence is a top priority. In this regular column, the Defence Dateline Group will explore Europe’s defence dilemmas: asking the tough questions, shining a light on the biggest issues and providing you with the “food for thought” you need to tackle the challenges ahead.

The Group

Tom Wein – Editor

Tom is a defence industry and strategy analyst with experience in the Middle East and strategic communications. He has worked as a project manager for Strategic Communication Laboratories, and published numerous policy papers and articles.

Robert Knapp – Columnist

Robert is a regular foreign affairs and defence contributor to BN magazine, with his principal areas of focus being naval strategy, European defence procurement and 20th century maritime history.

Laurence Conneely – Columnist

Laurence is currently studying for an MSc in Violence, Conflict & Development at the School of Oriental and African studies, with a particular focus on contested governance, geopolitics and insurgent & separatist movements across the Indian Subcontinent, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

David Moroz – Columnist

David is a former RAF reservist and War Studies graduate. His areas of interest include air power, British defence policy and the Second World War in Europe.

You can contact Defence Dateline Group and its members here.

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