Memorandum from the Ministry of Defence
(5 November 2001)
1. The Secretary of State for Defence announced
last month that we would be undertaking work to ensure we have
the right concepts, forces and capabilities in place to meet the
additional challenges posed by asymmetric threats of the kind
that we saw on 11 September.
2. As the Secretary of State said in the House
on 4 October, this will not be a new Strategic Defence Review
(SDR) but more the adding of a new chapter to it. Indeed, the
SDR left us well placed to participate in the campaign against
international terrorism. The SDR and the lessons of subsequent
operations in Kosovo and Sierra Leone have all moved our defence
posture in the right direction. We need to look hard at the priorities
in our plans and programmes—so that we can add capability
where it makes a difference.
3. We are developing our methodology for
taking the work forward. The first step is to work through the
defence policy consequences of the events of 11 September, particularly
in the areas of defence of the homeland and our capability to
counter and deter terrorism abroad. We will also look at the impact
of these events on international organisations, including in particular
NATO and the EU, and on our regional interests, not least given
the need to sustain long term coalitions against international
terrorism.
4. The work will go on to look at defence
posture and capabilities, and then take a first look at the implications
for force structures. We need to ensure that our concepts, policies
and capabilities to deter, dissuade and, as necessary, defeat
groups or states which pose us a threat, are optimised to the
circumstances in which we now find ourselves. We must do the same
in relation to the contribution of the Ministry of Defence and
Armed Forces to the security and defence of the UK.
5. This work will of course be set in the
context of the wide range of other work going on across Government
and of wider UK foreign policy (as was the SDR) and, importantly,
domestic security policy —for example, we will want to fit
into work being undertaken centrally by the Civil Contingencies
Secretariat. We are clear that the MoD work cannot be undertaken
in isolation, and representatives from other Government Departments
will be closely involved in the MoD work.
6. The exact timetable for the work will
have to be established in the light of the developing campaign,
but we would expect to be in a position to publish some conclusions
in the spring or early summer next year. We obviously have separate
mechanisms for seeking, as necessary, more rapid adjustments to
our defence posture or operational capability which may be required
as a result of current operations.
7. Overall, our approach will be very similar
to that adopted for the SDR, albeit that the scope of the work
is more limited and the timetable more demanding. We intend to
follow the SDR precedent of openness and inclusivity, although
some of the more effective techniques for countering terrorism
may, of course, need to be kept secret. We will involve a good
range of people who are able to contribute, both from inside and
outside the Department, and we will keep Parliament and the Committee
regularly informed of progress. As the Secretary of State made
clear in the House on 29 October, representations from Members
of Parliament will be welcome. We will also want to find ways
of gauging public opinion and providing the public with an opportunity
to offer views.
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