Washington, October 15: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who attended a NATO defense and foreign ministers’ meeting at its headquarters in Brussels on Thursday was asked in a BBC interview whether the defense cuts, and specifically reductions in Britain’s military expenditure, worries the US and she replied, “It does,” Bloomberg reported.
“The reason it does is because I think we do have to have an alliance where there is a commitment to the common defense,” she said, adding, “NATO has been the most successful alliance for defensive purposes in the history of the world I guess, but it has to be maintained. Now, each country has to be able to make its appropriate contributions.”
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also warned over the cutbacks, saying “My worry is that the more our allies cut their capabilities, the more people will look to the United States to cover whatever gaps are created. At a time when we are facing stringencies of our own, that’s a concern for me.”
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague however dismissed Gates’s concerns.
“We inherited a defense budget way overcommitted due to the irresponsibility of the previous government, so we have to get that under control,” Hague said.
Britain is set next week to unveil sweeping cuts to its defense budget as part of an austerity drive. The country has Europe’s most potent military and ranks as the staunchest US ally.
——–Agencies