“After Brexit, Boris Johnson’s government hailed the UK as an independent actor on the global stage. The pullout from Afghanistan, where among allies the UK was the biggest contributor to the US-led mission, has revealed its utter dependence on Washington.”
https://twitter.com/FinancialTimes/status/1430884274161557509
“Johnson set out his vaulting ambitions in integrated review of for & def policy. Free of European straitjacket, ‘Global Britain’ would rediscover the world. Policy would tilt towards Indo-Pac..navy’s new aircraft carrier, the Queen Elizabeth, would be dispatched to S China Sea”
“On close inspection it turned out that new ventures in cyber space would be paid for by downsizing the army and cutting back the Royal Air Force. Europe, unavoidably at the heart of the UK’s security interests, barely received a mention.”
“Estrangement from Europe leaves Atlanticism as the only option. Where was ‘Global Britain’ on the streets of Kabul, Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May asked scornfully, as the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital?”
“Johnson, deeply mistrusted in Berlin, Paris, Rome & Bxl & visibly disregarded in Washington, now finds himself standing, arms flailing, on a bridge to nowhere. Britain’s standing in the world is by no means beyond repair but the task of restoring it will fall to a future PM.”
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