A British general has declared that Russia, Iran, and China represent the greatest global threat and warned that a new world war is inevitable if NATO does not prepare.
General Patrick Sanders, who until June held the position of Chief of the General Staff of the British Army, compared the current geopolitical situation to that of 1939 and suggested that British forces do not have the capacity to manage a major conflict.
Sanders referred to Russia, Iran, and China as the "new Axis powers" and told The Times that these countries are more "interdependent and aligned" than the Axis powers in World War II.
A third world war could erupt in "five to 10 years" without the necessary preparations, an estimate that coincides with that made by the German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius.
"Most estimates will tell you that we have between five and ten years before Russia recapitalizes and is capable of raising the kind of threat it posed before the war in Ukraine," Sanders stated.
The key to preventing such a scenario lies in rearmament and deterring aggression, he mentioned: "If we take the right steps now, if we target the threats and shortcomings in our capabilities, if we modernize our armed forces, if we make society and the UK more resilient, we can prevent this."
"If we do that, it's a low probability. If we don't, the probability increases and encourages Russia, China, and Iran," added the general.
Sanders also stated that the British army no longer has the capacity to launch operations like the invasion of southern Iraq in 2003 or even the Falkland Islands in 1982.
"Could we combine the two brigades that occupied the Falkland Islands? Yes, of course we could. But could we get them there? Could we have the intervention group that managed to capture and hold them? No," he said.
Regarding the stock situation of British army equipment, the general summed it up with a vivid statement, implying its critical nature: "It makes your hair stand on end," he said, without providing specific data.
Patrick Sanders also warned earlier this year that the British must prepare for war and that the UK cannot rely on its naval and air forces after the Ministry of Defense in London decided to reduce personnel numbers from 82,000 to 73,000 by 2025.
Since the outbreak of the Russian invasion in Ukraine in 2022, several countries, especially the Baltic states, have warned that Russia's territorial ambitions extend beyond Ukraine's borders and that a potential victory for Moscow in this war could encourage the Kremlin to engage in a direct confrontation with NATO.
T.D.