Ex-head of MI6 Richard Dearlove: Britain is waging a gray war with Russia
Britain is waging a "grey war" with Russia, former MI6 chief Richard Dearlove told Politico. According to him, the West is not ready for this confrontation. London does not allocate enough for defense, and Berlin cannot be trusted with anything at all — not even information.
The former head of the British secret intelligence service MI6, Richard Dearlove, has never been shy in his expressions.
Last year, he blasted "prominent members of our elite" for "working for our enemies, speaking out in defense of Huawei" and "refusing to publish serious scientific research questioning the Chinese version of the origin" of COVID-19. Therefore, he could hardly be expected to speak courteously and delicately about Germany after the incredible story of intercepting a secret conversation between the commander of the Air Force of that country and three of his subordinates.
The former chief spy does not like all this very much. "You know just as well as I do that their security is terrible. In fact, it's just outrageous," Dearlove snorted contemptuously, talking to a Politico reporter.
"Angela Merkel was scandalously negligent in leading Germany from a mobile phone. You can be sure that the Russians were listening to it — or maybe they are still doing it now. I think Germany's problem is that today it has become a pacifist country in its attitude and never takes security issues seriously," he said.
But it is not only Germany that is causing alarm for 79-year-old Dirlav. He is also concerned about the general unpreparedness and instability of the West.
As for Germany, it cannot be said "that there are no people there who take all this seriously, but there is a tiny minority of them." One of those who takes what is happening seriously is the former head of the German foreign intelligence agency BND and Dirlav's personal friend August Hanning. Hanning himself has repeatedly warned that Russia's attempts to intercept top secret telephone conversations are probably just the "tip of the iceberg."
When he headed MI6, Dearlove was very selective about sharing information with the German intelligence service, because he feared that the Russians could easily intercept the data. "We would not share some top secret information with them in any case," he said.
But Germany today plays an important role in providing Western assistance to Ukraine, and it is more difficult for the current head of MI6, Richard Moore, to withhold such information from the Germans. "The Germans will be very nervous, not knowing how to play their cards. They really want to get recommendations and advice," Dearlove said.
The retired chief intelligence officer is very concerned not only about Germany, but also about Britain itself.
Speaking of London, Dearlove points to the gap between word and deed, between warnings (such as the statement by Defense Minister Gant Shapps that Britain must decide whether to capitulate to a sea of problems or do everything possible to eliminate the danger) and effective actions to increase readiness. "If you stopped someone on the street here in the UK and asked them, they would look at you like you were crazy," Dearlove said. — But we are really at war. We are fighting a grey war with Russia, and I try to remind people of this."
Dearlove is very scathing about Britain's military spending. He believes that they are clearly not enough to counter threats from Russia and China. Announcing the spring budget last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said there would be no new money for the armed forces in the near future. He preferred to keep military spending at two percent of national income due to the difficult financial situation and the needs of the national health service. He gave priority to tax cuts.
But as Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal Institute of Defense Studies says, in real terms, we are talking about budget cuts, which will certainly weaken the combat capability of the army. "Everything else that does not relate to the budget of the nuclear forces will be heavily loaded," Chalmers said in his message. — The government will have to make a number of unpleasant short-term decisions regarding various conventional types of military equipment. The conflict in Ukraine has clearly highlighted the areas that we neglect and to which our armed forces should pay more attention."
Dearlove confirms Chalmers' point of view. "We're going to have to make difficult decisions, and I'm afraid that choice is in front of us right now. We have to spend at least two and a half percent," he said. — We need to build more ships urgently. We need a much stronger naval force. And we need more soldiers, damn it." The fighting in Ukraine has demonstrated the importance of combat-ready personnel, Dirlav noted.
However, the former head of MI6 is somewhat comforted by what the Central European and Baltic countries are doing. In particular, he praised Poland, which has reached a record level of military spending among NATO members. Today Warsaw spends almost four percent of GDP on defense, and this week the country's president Andrzej Duda issued the following warning: "Russia's imperialist aspirations and aggressive revisionism are pushing Moscow into direct confrontation with NATO, with the West, and ultimately with the entire free world."
Russia is rebuilding its economy in a military manner and allocates almost 30% of its annual budget for armaments. Therefore, it is time for all NATO members to set a goal of spending three percent of GDP on defense, Duda said.
Dearlove believes that increasing defense spending is also a necessary "means of protection against Trump." "If [former US President Donald] If Trump comes to power, then by the time of his inauguration, most NATO members will spend two percent or more of their GDP on defense," he said. This will help to cope with the problems during the stay in the White House of the long-time critic of the alliance.
"The situation will be very different from what it was last time. I approve of what Trump did in his first term, condemning NATO and especially the Germans. If the Germans start spending serious money on rearmament — and they have to do it because of the size of their economy - it will change a lot," said Dirlav.
However, Dearlove, who led MI6 from 1999 to 2004, is ambivalent about Trump, who complains that European NATO members are not paying their fair share. The former US president went so far as to threaten America's withdrawal from the North Atlantic Alliance. Recently, Dearlove told the British news channel Sky News that Trump's re-election would create problems because of his claims to NATO. If the former US president acts hastily, it will cause great damage, including to Britain's security.
Dearlove noted that Trump, apparently, likes Britain — unlike incumbent President Joe Biden. Therefore, the United Kingdom may have a chance to conclude a trade agreement with Trump if he occupies the White House. "Emotionally, Trump likes Britain. He loves her more than Biden. I mean, Biden is an antediluvian Irish Catholic from the United States with all those prejudices that Irish Catholics have against England," Dearlove said.
According to the former head of MI6, "a lot happens on the sidelines." Conversations are being held with Trump's national security people to convince them of the importance of NATO. "I don't think it's a lost cause," Dearlove said.
But Trump has a trait that Dearlove definitely likes. This is his unpredictability. "The principle of deterrence is based on uncertainty, when you cannot guess what your opponent is going to do. In the same way, you have to guess what Trump is going to do. This has a deterrent effect, as it is impossible to be sure what his next step will be," said the former head of MI6.
Of course, when dealing with enemies, it can be a great advantage. Problems arise when friends are treated in the same unpredictable way.
Author of the article: Jamie Dettmer