The “threats [we face] have diversified and become more serious, and at a faster pace than we expected.”
"Significant progress has been made against Daesh in Iraq and Syria, and the prospects of a Caliphate on the ground have been defeated."
"The threat from international terrorism though has diversified and is more dispersed, and we see the phenomenon that Daesh represents emerging in other parts of the world."
"there is no longer two clear and distinct states of ‘peace’ and ‘war’ – we now have several forms"
"The arch exponent of this is Russia – I said earlier I believe it represents the most complex and capable state-based threat to our country since the end of the Cold War"
"They have developed coherent concepts for equipment and training that are focused on our vulnerabilities."
"They apply a ruthless focus on defeating their opponents – not seizing ground for the sake of it – but making sure that our vital ground is denied to us."
"Since 2016 we have seen a marked shift to cyber, subversion and coercion as well as sophisticated use of smear campaigns and fake news."
"The other part of the threat is how one assesses intent... one needs to understand Russian psyche, their culture and their philosophy of pre-emption."
"Russia could initiate hostilities sooner than we expect, and a lot earlier than we would in similar circumstances"
"Most likely they will use nefarious sub-Article 5 actions to erode the credibility of NATO and threaten the very structure that provides our own defence and security."
"You can argue about the extent to which the Kremlin’s disinformation efforts have influenced various western countries. But the main impact has been to convince ordinary Russians that the West is a threat."
"We should recognise that Russia respects strength and people who stand up to them."
"We have to continue to work at improving NATO and recognise that readiness is about speed of recognition, speed of decision making and speed of assembly."
"We need to return to an annual or biennial NATO exercise rhythm in which all levels play from strategic to tactical, this would allow for resources to be properly targeted and front line countries to practice mobilisation."
"We need to be prepared to fight the war we might have to fight."
"We need to fight differently against the sorts of threats I have set out."
"We need to recognise training as a surrogate for warfare."
"Our ability to pre-empt or respond to threats will be eroded if we don’t keep up with our adversaries."
