The British Imperial Establishment, Post Imperial Era, and the ‘Churchillian’ World View, 1945-2016. (Adjustments & Challenges in Contemporary British Diplomatic Strategy)

149

Defence Policy for the Modern Commonwealth: the Anglo-American
“Special
Nuclear Relationship”

Nany
ex-colonies joined the old Dominions, and the Modern
Commonwealth was formed. Leopold Amery, the Colonial
and Dominion
Secretary of State between the two World Wars, wrote in 1953, “… other
nations
now outside (the Commonwealth) may well decide to join it in course of time.”29

However, as F.S. Northedge has put it, “In the affluent society, nearly all
but millionaires
regard themselves as middle-class. Similarly, in international
relations, the millionaire states, or
super-powers, are easily distinguished –
especially two of them, the United States and the Soviet Union –
while most other
states, except the obvious dwarfs like Gambia and Fiji, tend to place
themselves
about in the middle rank. A super power simply disposes of more power than the
average
state. The U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. are about the only states since the
post-war period capable of
fighting a full-scale war, involving the most up to date
of modern weapons.”30 As estimations have shown, six hydrogen bombs with
themaximum capacity of
destruction now available can extinguish all life in the
British Isles, if dropped in the seas encircling
the United Kingdom. A similar
drop, commanded by either of the two super powers would have the same
effect
in an attack on almost any other country.

Therefore, Britain’s fear of the Communist threat to her (and her interests;
the Commonwealth and
its defence, which will be discussed), and lack of revenue
for an effective defence, as a result of her
economic crisis after the war, persuaded
Britain that an alliance with the United States was a necessity
to challenge the
Soviet Union’s expansionist policy. Both the Labour Administration of
1945-51
and the Conservative Governments between 1951 and 1963 shared this view, as
they did on most
of the other issues that we have discussed so far. Attlee, Bevin
and Churchill worked together in the War
Cabinet. When Attlee held the Labour
Premiership after the war, his Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin was
determined to

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