UK serves as a sidekick of US imperialism: American academic

The United Kingdom serves as “a sidekick of US imperialism” and is no position to take on the might of the Russian armed forces, says Professor Dennis Etler, a political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs.

Etler, a professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, told Press TV on Saturday that Britain’s primary role is to support the United States in its demonization of Russia.

He was commenting on a statement by General Richard Barrons, former head of Britain's Joint Forces Command, who said the United Kingdom would not be able to confront serious military powers, like Russia, in the event of a conventional war.

Barrons warned the Defense Ministry before he stepped down in April that the Britain would quickly be overwhelmed by a concerted Russian air campaign, The Financial Times reported Saturday.

Professor Etler said Barrons’s “assessment is undoubtedly true, but besides the point. Russia, for one, has no interest in waging an air campaign against Britain, and Britain has neither intent nor desire to defend itself as it relies on its ‘special relationship’ with the US to do so.”  

“What purpose does the British armed forces actually serve? Well, recent headlines tell all that needs to be known. Press TV recently reported that ‘According to latest data by the UK Trade and Investment agency, a government body that promotes British exports overseas, over the last 10 years the UK’s average arms sales have exceeded those of Russia, China, or France and is only second to the United States.’ In addition the News Agency reports that the ‘Royal Navy destroyer HMS Daring is slated to join a fleet of US warships stationed in the Persian Gulf,’” he stated.

“The true purpose of the UK military-industrial complex is hence to export weapons and serve as a sidekick of US imperialism in its drive to maintain and expand global hegemony. All the dire talk of the UK not being ready for world war or capable of fending off a Russian air campaign is merely a smokescreen for increased military spending while the British economy continues to falter,” Professor Etler noted.

“With Brexit the UK is more beholden than ever to its imperial progeny, the USA. It is Britain's dependence on the US and its service as US imperialism's junior partner that defines its military role in today's world. The UK is not expected to have a standalone military capable of self-defense,” he observed.

“As part of NATO and ‘BFF’ of the USA, Britain has been allocated the role of cheer-leader-in-chief of US imperialism. It is NATO, under the tutelage of the US, that threatens Russia and wants to provoke a new world war, not the other way around. The UK's primary role is to support the US in its war-mongering demonization of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin,” the analyst noted.

“General Barrons complaint that British military capability has been ‘withered by design,’ is meant to buttress the government's pledge to increase the military budget to meet NATO's spending,” he said.

“A key component of both US presidential candidate's foreign policy is to have US allies foot the bill for the maintenance and expansion of Empire, including increased spending on asymmetric warfare such as cyber and special forces. This requires that a propaganda offense be launched to try and convince a wary public that increased military spending is needed to fend off a non-existent threat while living standards continue to decline,” Professor Etler concluded. 

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