06 April 2010
The Mission and Public Affairs Council of the Church of England has welcomed the Ministry of Defence’s Green Paper ahead of the Strategic Defence Review as a healthy stimulant to a long overdue national conversation about the identity of our country, its nature, its interests, its duties and its direction in a dark, volatile and troubled new world. All political parties are committed to holding the Review after the general election.
The response to Adaptability and Partnership: Issues for the Strategic Defence Review expresses serious questions about key assumptions in the Green Paper and welcomes the idea of widespread consultation on foreign policy and defence strategy, encouraging the objective of building an enduring national consensus. This, it says, means engaging with the general public, think tanks, NGOs and faith communities.
“A nationwide consultation has value in and of itself, particularly in its contribution to national cohesion and identity,” the response says. “It is also important politically as it would help ensure that the military have the widest possible public support, especially if and when called upon to go to war. The French statesman Georges Clemenceau is often quoted as saying that war was too important to be left to generals (‘des militaires’). It is also too important to be left to politicians. Nationwide debate on the questions raised by the Green Paper and the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review is therefore much to be welcomed.”
The response in full.