British parliament criticizes national security policyBritish parliament criticizes national security policy

British Members of Parliament (MPs) Tuesday issued a report critical of national security policy in which they said important decisions were driven by the need to save money. The report from the Defense Select Committee said British military capabilities should not be determined by budgetary constraints. The committee called for a fully-developed strategy which defines the position in the world that Britain wants to adopt. Committee Chairman James Arbuthnot, who is also a MP, said: "As far as we can tell, the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) and the 2010 National Security Strategy were governed by the overriding strategic objective of reducing the UK's budget deficit. We have found it difficult to divine any other genuinely strategic vision in either document." The report urges the government to produce a comprehensive national security strategy in the first place and let that document, along with the Comprehensive Spending Review, direct the next SDSR. The allocation of resources will be based on national spending priorities set to meet the nation's security needs. The British economy contracted during the financial crisis and the principal task of David Cameron's government after election in 2010 was to reduce the government borrowing requirement, which had reached record levels. This process is continuing and has led to cuts across British government departments, as well as some increases in taxation. Military spending had a slightly lower cut than other areas of expenditure. However all three services have contracted, with the British Army slated to be 82,000 strong in 2020 against 102,000 in 2010. British military planning is now centered on providing a reduced expeditionary capability compared with 2001 when it took part in the military operation in Afghanistan and the 2003 Iraq War. The committee report, titled "Towards the Next Defense and Security Review", is the first in a series contributing towards the next SDSR. A British Ministry of Defense (MOD) spokesman said, "MOD welcomes the committee's focus on a strategic approach, but it is unrealistic to think that Defence can operate in a vacuum, without having regard to the fiscal challenges the country faces. A meaningful SDSR has to balance strategic and fiscal challenges to find a sustainable solution for defense."