UK at war within 1000 days

[HumbleStumble]

Wes Streeting has said Britain must be ready for war in 1,000 days. This combined with the advice to stockpile while you can is highly inflammatory and worrying. AIBU to think that if there is a specific threat he should be specific? If it's a nuclear threat then he should say. We are lucky to have access to what is effectively a bunker but what can you do if you live in a bedsit in the London borough of suburbia?

We’re all going to be dead in 6 months anyway when AI kills us all, I’d thought. That was last months scary headline

They’ll have a lot more information on this than randoms on the internet. I don’t think Wes Streeting would have been allowed to put this statement out without great thought.

How exactly do you stop a country from being targeted by terrorists? Or cyber attacks? Pretty much every western country is a target, regardless of political leanings or leadership. So what do you do? Cosy up to Russia?

How do you think the US used tanks in Afghanistan and Iraq? I'm not sure why everyone is making such a big deal about his turn of phrase, yes the UK is uniquely in a position of defense compared to the rest of Europe but its not impossible to invade an island and it would be a real boon to any aggressor of Europe to hold the UK, I'm sure Putin's thought about it a fair few times! However just like Germany tried to do, laying siege and starving us is the much easier option.

Could Russian tanks come through the Channel Tunnel? I seem to remember that was one argument against it, that it would make us easier to invade!

This exactly. It’ll be going on behind the scenes to disrupt our banking systems etc. Cutting off oil supplies. If anyone thinks it’ll be the Ruskies in tanks rolling down Regent Street they’re way off the mark.

Yes, ignoring tyrants trying to steal other peoples countries has always historically gone brilliantly

... brought to you from the same people who didn't predict 9/11, the stock market crash, the housing crash, covid-19 ... 🙄

No the SNCF workers will go on strike

Yep always something 🙄 .

is NOT simply one of conventional warfare, or Russian tanks rolling across our borders.

The point being made is that it isn't likely that this would happen, but that some of the most frequently used systems are vulnerable, and we shouldn't be completely relying on e.g. next day delivery from Amazon and digital payments.

I think the use of "days" here as a measurement is unhelpful. 1000 days is still over 3 years away.

I can't imagine that Wes Streeting knows what form any "attack" will be in, its highly unlikely to be nuclear and much more likely to be in the form of cyber attacks to the supply chain, essential services

At least Putin will stop the boats if he takes over.

How do you think the US used tanks in Afghanistan and Iraq?

I don't think there were many, if any actual tanks used in Afghanistan because it's not a place conducive to tank use. The AFV's used in that conflict would have been flown directly into Afghanistan itself or via the border with Pakistan.

With Iraq and Kuwait jumping off points were in neighbouring States.

The difference is, you can "roll tanks across a border" where there is actually a land border to roll your tanks across. The UK does not have any of those, unless you are somehow suggesting Russia would stage it's invasion of the UK from somewhere in Ireland. Even then, they'd still have to cross the Irish Sea to tackle the main meal.

How is that comparable to a huge, planned amphibious assault that has the intention of taking territory by force- rhetorical by the way!

If we're fucked then we're fucked.

Nothing I could have access to or build up and inventory of could last much beyond the "fucked" moment so don't stress about it.

@XDownwiththissortofthingX The UK does not have any "borders" any prospective invasion force could "roll tanks across" to begin with, unless you are talking about maritime borders, in which case the vehicles in question would be ships and not tanks, or the UK's internal borders between the constituent nations.

I just provided you with the example of an amphibious assault, which would involve tanks rolling across the UK's borders, thanks.

If 100 Russian guys were put in an inflatable orange boat, we would be fucked.

Russia/ China or do you mean Trump and the like?

I do think the next war will be technological and unlike anything we can really imagine right now.

After what happened in Paris surely there is much more possibility of unrest from within.

Last weekend in Paris-
1.5 billion pounds worth of damage
5,000 cars burned out
3,000 businesses ransacked
-severe casualties, with over 1,000 law enforcement officers and hundreds of civilian demonstrators injured nationwide
3deaths

Riots yesterday spread to Barcelona and Rome

Our elites sadly are not known to be the brightest but to focus on Russia, who couldn’t even conquer Ukraine and is weakened by years of conflict and has historically never invaded us seems odd when they could be reinforcing the police numbers rather than letting them decline.

The UK does have a land border.

This is generally that posters usual comment on most threads about similar subjects.

Yeah thanks for getting us involved with supporting bloody Ukraine.

What an absolute disgrace to our forefathers who fought to liberate those under Nazi occupation!

Amazing how much dramatic 'be prepared' rhetorical terror is being drip fed into the media the week before a budget, eh? Won't we all be relieved when we only have to suck up another round of hikes and cuts to keep the boogeyman from the door?