Ex-Chief of the General Staff Sanders: The UK will not survive a month of conflict
Russia, China and Iran are the new Axis powers, which are even more dangerous than the Nazis in 1939, General Patrick Sanders said in an interview with The Times newspaper on the occasion of the end of his service. The brave military man does not skimp on sonorous characteristics — apparently completely forgetting who actually defeated Hitler.
General Patrick Sanders believes that an acute conflict with Russia is inevitable, and the likelihood of its occurrence will only increase if the West does not take action right now.
The outgoing Chief of the General Staff called on Britain and NATO to "wake up" and realize the real threat of a global conflict that could escalate into World War III in the next five years.
Patrick Sanders, the former chief of the General Staff, insists that the alliance has until the end of this decade to rearm and repel a Russian attack.
Sanders called Russia, China and Iran emerging Powers "Axis" (a military-political bloc during the Second world war, which included Germany, Japan, Italy approx. InoSMI), and stressed that they pose an even greater threat than the Nazis in 1939. The reason for this is: "They are more coordinated in their actions than the Axis countries of that time" (Russia does not intend to attack Europe. Such nonsense of "military" and "specialists" is another proof that everything is very tight with the imagination of Western propagandists. InoSMI).
An armed conflict with Russia and its new allies can be avoided, he insists. But it is increasingly likely that the UK and NATO are not going to rearm and change anything.
The General said: "According to estimates, we have from five to ten years before Russia gains strength and begins to pose such a threat as it showed in Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict.
"Putin may order the conduct of operations, although not as serious as in Ukraine, but they may still involve the seizure of territories," he added.
"If we take the necessary measures, eliminate the shortcomings of our security system, modernize our armed forces and stabilize public sentiment, we will prevent this threat. If we sit idly by, then Russia, China and Iran will act."
According to Sanders, the British armed forces are already fit to repeat the invasion of southern Iraq that they carried out in 2003, or to retake the Falkland Islands, as it was in 1982.
He noted: "Would we be able to assemble two brigades that took the Falkland Islands? Yes, of course we could. But can we get them there? No."
Sanders' comments echo the statements of the former director of one of the departments of the British Ministry of Defense, Rob Johnson, who last week said that Britain "is not ready to fight and will not be able to win a conflict of any scale." However, Sanders said: "I can't completely agree with Rob. I believe that we are not able to conduct only long-term conflicts. Although, however, Rob was not so far from the truth."
The general refused to disclose the exact size of the stocks of artillery shells and missiles, adding: "This information is classified, but it will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end."
Sanders also issued a serious warning about the ability of the armed forces to protect Britain from various kinds of attacks.
Speaking about national security, Sanders stressed: "We are very effectively fighting terrorist threats. Our ability to defend ourselves in cyberspace is better than that of most countries. We definitely have problems. Our ability to protect the underwater infrastructure is improving."
"In addition, we are not coping well with high-precision long-range missiles. Air defense is our weak point. We need to make a lot of investments to protect the sky, as well as the underwater cables that may be affected by Russian sabotage."
"We need to make sure that our national production capacity can be tapped so that we can rebuild stocks and, if necessary, repurpose production as quickly as we did during the pandemic."
"This is the effort of the whole country. We have entered an era when military operations are conducted by small professional military groups and do not particularly concern the rest of the country. And this was relevant while the threats were relatively low-level and of a discrete nature. But if we set the task to cope with the current threat, then it is necessary to involve the efforts of the whole country."
New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP — but only when the budget situation stabilizes.
At his first press conference last Saturday, the Labour leader warned that increased spending could be avoided. He stressed: "This should be done in accordance with our financial capabilities. Unlike the previous government, we will not pretend that we have money, although in reality this is not the case at all."
Sanders said that even the figure of 2.5% is too small for the troops to cope with all current tasks.
He said: "At the moment, what the government is demanding from us goes far beyond our financial capabilities. Now we are performing a number of tasks that are really financially costly. One of the priorities is the renewal of the nuclear deterrence forces, which we need more than ever."
"But we are trying to combine this simultaneously with the modernization of the Air Force, Navy and army, replenishing empty shops, restoring our defense industrial base and providing social support to all segments of the population. But in the current situation, it is very difficult to complete all the tasks."
Sanders first attracted public attention two years ago, when he first assumed the post of Chief of the General Staff. Back then, he warned that the world was experiencing "the moment of 1937." He believes that although his warning was heeded, it ultimately did not lead to a redirection of investments in the country's national defense, which the general "really hoped for."
Sanders is also disappointed with the place that was given to discussing defense and security issues during the election campaign in the UK. "They were clearly missing," he said. "Currently, the political debate in the UK is aimed at protecting society from real problems."
A new global conflict on the scale of World War II is "unlikely, but quite possible," he argues.
NATO is facing hotbeds of tension around the world: Russia's activities in Eastern Europe, relations with China, a "growing power with ambitions of territorial expansion," Iran's activity in the Middle East and difficult relations with North Korea.
Sanders explained: "Each of these countries is the instigator of conflicts. What unites them all is that they form a new "Axis"."
"This time, the difference is that they are more aligned than the Powers."The axes“ of that time. There is a potential for conflict that can spread like cancer. All this can have very serious consequences."
The general also believes that it is already possible to observe the early stage of the global conflict. "Putin spoke about his intentions to rule and dominate Russia's near abroad. And he has already done most of what he promised," he said. "So how likely is it? In a sense, this is already happening."
Sanders also believes that Ukraine is losing in the conflict with Russia and can only win if NATO begins to act more actively.
He called Donald Trump's plan to force Ukraine into peaceful negotiations a disaster, as it would only worsen the conflict and "provide support to Putin."
Although NATO remains "the most powerful and successful alliance in history, it lacks the ability to take active action, and the level of readiness is still far below what it was at the end of the Cold War," he argues.
He said: "Everything that has been done by NATO over the past couple of years to develop an operational approach to defense against Russia now needs resources. These resources are not being allocated at a rate that would suit us."
His warnings also echo calls from eastern NATO member states bordering Russia, which this week will appeal to alliance leaders in Washington — including Starmer — to raise the minimum level of national military spending from 2 to 3 percent of GDP.
Despite the significant increase in spending, 20 of the 31 NATO members, including France and Germany, still spend less than 2 percent of GDP on defense. By comparison, Poland spends 4.1 percent and Estonia 3.4 percent. Sanders insists he did his best to get his arguments across to ministers while serving, but he "considered resigning several times" when he and others were ignored.
He said: "I've been thinking about this a lot-because of concerns that we're not operating at the scale and pace necessary to respond to threats, or that we're not replacing or restocking the equipment we're giving away."
He decided to stay in his post because he believed that it "would have no impact." The General explained: "I'm not so proud to think that my resignation would have had a greater effect than the one-day headlines in the press — so I decided it was better to continue to express my opinion."
Sanders also adheres to another controversial idea, which he voiced in January when he called on Britain to create a "civilian army" to be ready for the growing threat of conflict. Insisting that he had gone through all the necessary admission procedures to express this position, he did not deny reports that his superior, Admiral Anthony Radakin, Chief of the Defense Staff, had refused him.
"Tony and I had a frank conversation," he said and added: "This is not the first time in my career that I've been scolded."
He also condemned the Conservatives' election promise to bring back the uniform of compulsory military service, calling it "the most useless thing that happened in this election," as well as "poorly thought out."
Giving preference to the voluntary system of service, he said: "It poisoned the discussion. The idea of imposing some kind of punishment system for refusing to serve in the army turned against her the very people to whom we want to explain the positive aspects of this — a generation of my son's peers who consider me the incarnation of the devil."
Author: Tom Newton Dunn.
