Posted on 05/02/2013 10:20:58 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A British think tank has unveiled a plan by the UK government to return to the seat of its old imperial power by developing a strong “shadow presence” in the Persian Gulf region.
The plan was cited in a report entitled ‘A Return to East of Suez? UK Military Deployment to the [Persian] Gulf’ by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
It expounded on a shift in UK policy that is driven by, what it described a “fear of what is happening in the Middle East.”
“The military intends to build up a strong shadow presence around the [Persian] Gulf; not an evident imperial-style footprint, but a smart presence with facilities, defense agreements, rotation of training, transit and jumping-off points,” the report said.
The British imperialism left the Persian Gulf region following the East of Suez decision in 1971, after which many countries under the UK’s imperial military power declared their independence.
According to the report the UK government believes an increased presence in the Middle East region would be wise due to the “swirling social storms across the region in the wake of the ‘Arab [Islamic] Awakening.’”
It also refers to Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program as a primary motivation behind the UK’s policy shifts....
(Excerpt) Read more at presstv.ir ...
The Persians have long been noted for their uncanny ability to divine the true intentions of their enemies by “reading between the lines.”
I wish this was a true story.
There are 4 Vanguard class subs, not one.
Is Britain going to be able to finance its own armed forces independent of the UK?
I stand corrected, I was confused as I remembered their having one boat on patrol at a time. Do the Iranians understand that all those UK MIRVs could destroy the entire Middle East, not just Persia?
Britain can’t even run London, much less the Persian Gulf.
The Iranians probably know that, but they've never forgotten the Empire and tend to assume that we still control everything; quite how I don't know ;-)
If so, the defence question is quite a thorny topic. The Scottish Nationalist Party has made it quite clear that they don't want nuclear subs based anywhere in Scotland, while at the same time contriving to suggest that they'd still be sheltered under our nuclear umbrella. Not sure what Scotland would be able to spend on defence, or how much of the UK military assets they'd take with them. In population terms, there are only 5.3 million Scots compared to 53.1 million English alone, so if share was based on that, it'd probably 3 rowing boats and a blunderbus.
“I wish this was a true story.”
It’s true to a point. The British Navy plans on upgrading facilities where they currently keep minesweepers.
Having worked in minesweeping I can tell you that mines represent the biggest threat in middle eastern oil. The Iranians have an estimated 30-70 thousand mines with which to block the Straits of Hormuz. Some mines are impossible to sweep and must be hunted. If the Iranians deploy their mines no more oil will flow from the Persian Gulf. It would all have to be piped elsewhere.
Hunting a mine means you send down a remote vehicle which ID’s the mine and then self-destructs. These cost in the neighborhood of $45,000 each. The mines can cost as little as $1,000. Also, mines can be made to resemble engine blocks or wreckage, so they can’t be identified even if you find them. Imagine what it would cost to clear the straits.
The four replacements for Vanguard are already under construction.
Still in initial assessment phase, I thought. Decision on whether to go for 3 or 4 boats and start build will be taken in 2016.
Good. Let them carry some water for awhile.
No a lot of design work has already been done, and metal was cut last month.
I stand corrected! Good to know.
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