To be a world player, you need that big stick

Plenty of noise; plenty of condemnation. That’s the easy part. It always was. Last week’s horrific chemical assault by Bashar al-Assad on his own people was not the first. I doubt it will be the last.

Both Assad and Vladimir Putin are exploiting the West’s ongoing hangover of self-doubt since the 2003 invasion of Iraq carried out on a false premise. But the painful reflection has gone on too long. David Cameron righted some of the issues by creating the National Security Council to ensure that if we go to war again it will be after a more informed and, to be frank, more honest process.

However, we remain inhibited in our ability to not only defend ourselves, but to be taken seriously.

The process of seeking Parliament’s approval for the use of force is outdated given the pace of global events. As a relatively inexperienced MP, I sat bemused throughout much of the Syria debate in December 2015. As MPs decided on the deployment of six more jets to extend bombing from Iraq to Syria, crossing over a border that was being observed by no one other than the UK, I wondered what we have become to both our allies and enemies. Reliable? Steadfast? Committed?

To be taken seriously, we need to offer capability. But Defence Secretary Michael Fallon cannot deny that the cutting of the Royal Marines as part of a decade-long programme to save £10bn does not help.

It’s not his fault, he plays with what he has. And we have some brilliant capabilities, mostly in the form of our people. But why did the US only “inform” us of its intentions last week? Sitting in Washington, do you want to take unilateral action, or would you not rather share the burden with your closest ally?

I’m not calling for war, but if Donald Trump’s actions show us anything, it is that the Assad-Putin types respect strength. Our righteous anger means nothing to them or to the children of Syria.

Post Brexit we need to understand that Britain must offer something beyond talk, and that requires a military; a strength of character; a strategy; a plan. Theresa May wants a global Britain, one that “stands proud”. If we are going to be taken seriously, to misquote Teddy Roosevelt, we need to “speak softly and carry a f------ big stick”. We are talking loudly and carrying a withering branch that we are scared to raise in case Diane Abbott gets upset.