Heading for the USA: why the "Russian threat" overshadowed the problem of extremism for Great Britain

Russia poses a greater threat to Britain than extremist groups.

This was stated in an interview with The Telegraph by the chief of staff of the United Kingdom's defense, General Nick Carter.

“We are living in an era of phenomenal change.

I think that the world is changing more and more rapidly today than during both world wars of the last century.

When I became Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in 2014, we argued whether the threat was coming from violent extremism or from Russia.

Then it seemed that from extremism.

But then in 2018 there was an attack on the Skripal family in Salisbury.

It has become abundantly clear that Russia poses the most critical threat to our country, ”Carter said.

According to him, the "Russian threat" is also on the top priority list of the British Prime Minister's National Security Advisor Stephen Lovegrove.

The general believes that Moscow today is behaving provocatively, which could lead to some kind of "catastrophic" misunderstanding and lead to a conflict.

Indeed, according to Carter, the Russian Federation today uses unconventional methods of confrontation with its Western opponents.

Among these methods, he named cyberattacks and the creation of a migration crisis on the borders of the European Union.

• British Chief of Staff Nick Carter

• © REUTERS / Adnan Abidi

“Today, threats are not quite as usual;

I would say that these are actions in a gray zone, when opponents perceive the world as a constant struggle, in which all means are good, until they lead to an open military clash, "said the chief of the British Defense Staff.

"Geopolitical Bipolar Disorder"

At the same time, Nick Carter stressed that Russia should not think that the "West is dead" after the recent failure of NATO and the United States in Afghanistan.

According to him, the North Atlantic Alliance remains united, and he cited a significant number of American exercises to be held in Europe in the next two to three years as proof of this.

However, at the same time the general admitted that London needs to conduct a dialogue even with such opponents as Russia in order to have a "better understanding of each other."

He also admitted that the position he described in Moscow was a response to the attempts of the West to contain it.

"The main question is whether they (Russia. -

) initially

wanted to

act as they are acting now, or whether it is our policy of containment that prompts them to behave in this way," the British general said.

In this regard, he stated the need to carefully analyze the emerging situations in order to avoid incorrect assessments and loss of control over them.

Indeed, as Carter noted earlier, there is now a fairly high risk of an "accidental" war with Russia.

At the same time, in his opinion, the destruction of the bipolar world and the competition for regional influence led to this state of affairs.

Moscow responded to these words, stressing that the multipolarity of the current world order does not imply only competition.

“The poles are the centers of convergence of interests of countries that are looking for in each other not rivals against someone, but partners for something creative and constructive,” Maria Zakharova, an official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote in her Telegram channel.

She also noted that it is NATO and other defense alliances that are aimed at discord in the regional environment.

“This is not a sign of multipolarity, but a symptom of the“ geopolitical bipolar disorder ”of the 20th century, which the West is trying to apply in this century, let me remind you, the 21st,” Zakharova stressed.

"Keep in suspense"

According to media reports, London intends to transfer its military group to Germany, from where it was previously withdrawn.

"Instead of basing only on the territory of Great Britain and the need to cross the English Channel, forward deployment will be used so that they (the military. -

) do not have to be transported by boats," The Times wrote, citing its own sources.

It is reported that the reason for such a step was the allegedly increased threat from Russia against the background of reports that it was preparing for an "invasion" of Ukraine.

So, according to The Times, in Germany, at the Zennelager base near the city of Paderborn (North Rhine-Westphalia), military equipment will be deployed, including Ajax and Boxer armored vehicles, modernized Challenger 3 tanks, drones, self-propelled artillery installations, sapper equipment and tank trucks.

In addition, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace on November 25 presented a plan for the modernization of the country's ground forces called "Soldier of the Future."

In particular, the minister said that British troops will create ground-based regional hubs in Germany, Kenya and Oman.

“If you sit (at a military base. -

) in Tidworth with the possibility of deployment only after a month [after receiving the order] - this will not scare off a rival like Russia, which constantly conducts military exercises and changes the level of combat readiness of its troops in order to keep all of us in suspense. This is one of the challenges we face. We are often alarmed by the actions of Russia, and, of course, such things as the recent maneuvers "West (- 2021. -

)" and the buildup of troops on the border with Ukraine, cannot but cause deep concern among NATO countries, "Wallace explained, speaking in parliament.

Also, on the basis of the 16th Airborne Assault Brigade and the 1st Army Aviation Brigade, it is planned to create a global response force in order to involve them in resolving crisis situations abroad.

According to the minister, the current program for the transformation of the army has become the most cardinal over the past 20 years.

• British tank Challenger

• © REUTERS / Ints Kalnins

In Russia, all accusations of escalating tensions in the world have been repeatedly rejected.

Moreover, as Russian President Vladimir Putin noted, it is the Western countries that are trying to break the strategic parity, in connection with which Moscow has to take measures to strengthen its security.

“We cannot fail to notice these threats to Russia's security and we will respond appropriately to the situation,” he said in early November at a meeting with the leadership of the Defense Ministry and representatives of the defense industry complex.

"Geopolitical competitor of the West"

Experts interviewed by RT note that the current actions of the UK should be considered in conjunction with the US political course.

According to Elena Ananyeva, head of the Center for British Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, London is striving to "de-Europeanize" itself after Brexit and declare itself as an independent player.

However, at first, this can only be done with an impressive ally behind your back.

“After leaving the EU, Britain has no one to rely on but the United States.

Those who supported Brexit said in advance that it was necessary to strengthen ties with Anglo-Saxon countries, in particular, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, "Ananyeva explained in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, the analyst recalled that Britain has traditionally pursued an anti-Russian course, consolidating it in the latest review on the strategy of national security and defense.

“The policy of the current authorities is to form a continental union of European countries against Russia.

In this regard, London is whipping up anti-Russian hysteria, having received an official reason for this back in 2014 against the backdrop of events in Ukraine, ”the analyst said.

Alexei Podberezkin, director of the Center for Military-Political Studies at MGIMO, also says that London is now fully oriented towards Washington in its attacks against Moscow.

In his opinion, in this situation, Russia should be on its guard, since such aggressive rhetoric may well be followed by provocations, and not necessarily directly from the United Kingdom.

“The UK itself is unlikely to take any serious action.

Rather, it will inspire them from Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states.

The maximum that London is capable of is the participation of its forces in some special operations or to send its ships to the border zones, the territorial waters of the Russian Federation, "Podberezkin said in a commentary on RT.

• British Parliament

• © REUTERS / Toby Melville

On the whole, he stressed, the current anti-Russian wave in Britain fits well into the general foreign policy line of Western countries.

“They are not satisfied with the sovereign course of the Russian Federation.

In their opinion, the norms and rules that they have created must be universal, and in accordance with them, Russia, as in the nineties, must renounce its sovereignty, ”the expert said.

A similar opinion is shared by Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In a commentary on RT, he noted that the West is trying to present not only Russia, but also China as a renewed "evil empire".

“Russia, like China, is a geopolitical rival of the West, standing in its way to world domination.

Today Russia is a problem for the entire political class of Western countries, so they are trying to demonize it.

In addition, the intensified attribution of certain aggressive plans to Moscow in the eyes of Western countries gives them a reason to act aggressively towards the Russian Federation themselves, "Blokhin summed up.