Patrick WintourPM's trust in defence chief key to sanctioning use of force
Monday September 11, 2000
It was altogether appropriate that Tony Blair secretly authorised yesterday's mission on the eve of a speech to the UN in which he urged the world community to be bolder in the use of military force to defend human rights.Mr Blair could hardly claim credibility as a world leader demanding a more pro-active and militarily decisive UN, the theme of the UN summit and his own speech, if he was not willing to free kidnapped British troops acting as UN peacekeepers in a former British colony.
But the decision to sanction the use of troops also reflects Mr Blair's implicit trust in Sir Charles Guthrie, the Chief of the Defence Staff.
Sir Charles's plummy vowels and deep pride in the British military would once have been anathema to Labour. He might even have been labelled a force for conservatism. In fact, he is seen as utterly reliable by Mr Blair. If, sometimes, the prime minister seems to be surrounded by feuding children in his Cabinet, he can find a form of relief in his senior military adviser.
The relationship has benefited from a confluence of interest between New Labour and the military. Labour's ethical foreign policy, and defence of human rights, has required a mobile military arm willing to enforce peace-keeping.
This doctrine found its first expression in the Ministry of Defence's strategic defence review. Its key pillar - the need to restructure British forces to undertake multi-national peacekeeping operations - was accepted by Labour. It required greater mobility, different equipment, a new kind of military training and a new mandate. It also required a bigger budget - over which Blair has shown he is willing to countermand the Treasury.
It was in the Balkans crisis last year that the close Guthrie-Blair relationship of trust was truly formed. If the military top brass had any fears that New Labour would not match the Thatcherite steel in a military crisis, they were dispelled over Kosovo.
Subsequently Sir Charles has praised Mr Blair's leadership role during the conflict and his willingness to defend the lengthy bombing campaign. He was also impressed with Mr Blair's private willingness to commit up to 50,000 troops to the crisis.
Mr Blair had the vital "in" with President Clinton, so providing Sir Charles with insights into how the Clinton administration was moving. Notes of the private phone conversations during the war between Clinton and Blair were provided to Sir Charles and to key figures in Nato.