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\n Photo by Sean Gallup\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\n Photo by Sean Gallup\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Since being elected Green Party leader, I\u2019ve faced plenty of attacks from politicians over my stance on Nato. Apparently, pointing out that the Cold War-era alliance in its current form isn\u2019t working makes me na\u00efve. Highlighting the UK\u2019s reliance on the United States for our security makes me stupid. And insisting that we adapt our security system to meet the threats of the 21st century makes me crazy.<\/p>\n
Now we are in a position where leaders, journalists and people across the world are asking the question: what happens if one Nato member attacks another? How would the United Kingdom and other Nato members respond if the US were to invade Greenland? Suddenly, the idea that we might need to rethink our security structures doesn\u2019t seem so na\u00efve, while people like Nigel Farage, who have spent years cosying up to Trump, are clearly not the ones we should be listening to at this moment.<\/p>\n
In the last 24 hours, Donald Trump has threatened to impose huge tariffs on any country opposing his plan to \u201cbuy\u201d Greenland from Denmark. As Greenlanders march under the banner of \u201cGreenland is for Greenlanders,\u201d it has become increasingly clear that this dangerous president will neither respect international agreements nor diplomatic ties, and will not accept that his already extensive access to Greenland under the 1951 Defence of Greenland Agreement is sufficient.<\/p>\n
When Trump says, \u201cOne way or the other, we\u2019re going to have Greenland,\u201d we should sit up and listen.<\/p>\n
It is now frighteningly clear that basing our entire national security on being America\u2019s poodle will soon become entirely untenable. The pressing question is: what do we do about it?<\/p>\n
New year, new read. Save 40% off an annual subscription this January.<\/p>\n First, we need to disentangle our security apparatus from the United States so that we can be genuinely independent. As an urgent first step, the government should review how we might remove US bases from British soil while maintaining our own security \u2013 and retaining the capacity to support our allies in Ukraine. There are currently 13 US military bases in the UK, operated by an estimated 10,000 personnel. If Trump were to take military action against Greenland, we must be able to act swiftly to remove America\u2019s military presence from our country peacefully and efficiently. The government should also cancel its \u00a3240m deal with US firm Palantir, signed despite MPs raising serious security concerns<\/a> about the company.<\/p>\n Second, we need to ditch Trident \u2013 and fast. Even supporters of nuclear weapons recognise the risks of maintaining a system that relies<\/a> on the United States. Billions have already been spent on Trident renewal, but we must not fall prey to the sunk-cost fallacy. The government should immediately pause the renewal and bring a full debate to parliament on whether we wish to spend billions of pounds on a weapons system that cannot operate without US support.<\/p>\n In the longer term, we need a comprehensive security review that fully accounts for the serious threats facing the UK today. In the 140 pages of the government\u2019s most recent Strategic Defence Review, the word \u2018climate\u2019 appears only twice, while \u2018flooding\u2019 and \u2018wildfire\u2019 are absent entirely. Yet senior military figures warn that the dangers posed by the climate crisis far outweigh those from other states<\/a>. When discussing defence spending, these are precisely the threats we must assess and budget for \u2013 rather than simply acquiescing to America\u2019s arbitrary demands for military expenditure, which flow straight into the coffers of US arms manufacturers.<\/p>\n We also need to strengthen our relationships with European allies and with nations across the globe, while working within Nato to ensure the alliance prioritises peacebuilding over militarism. Leaving the EU weakened the UK and left us overly reliant on the toxic so-called \u201cspecial relationship.\u201d Amidst the threats posed by Russia and the instability of today\u2019s world, alliances with nations that share our values have never been more important. The UK has a vital role to play in fostering new forms of multilateral cooperation \u2013 particularly with Europe and the Global South \u2013 to reduce our dependence on the US.<\/p>\n The first duty of any government is to keep its people safe. In today\u2019s unpredictable world, that will not be achieved by clinging to outdated notions of security, or by cowering at Trump\u2019s feet in the hope that he will protect us. It requires confronting the threats facing us head-on \u2013 from Putin\u2019s imperial ambitions and Trump\u2019s insatiable demands, to cyber warfare and the destabilising effects of climate breakdown. For too long, British leaders have buried their heads in the sand. It is time to wake up.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/dl6pgk4f88hky.cloudfront.net\/2021\/09\/TNS_master_logo.svg\"){kind=logo}
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