Our defence is in great danger of becoming a toothless tiger. The military is constantly deployed to maintain international rule of law: from Uruzgan to Libya. This does not stop the Liberal/Christian Democratic cabinet from cutting its budget severely. The budget cuts result in the dismissal of both troops and weapon systems, from a series of minehunters to the last remaining tank battallion. The extremely expensive JSF fighterplane seems to avoid the flurry of budget cuts thusfar. Which choices should we make in an everchanging world, caught of an economic crisis? This is debated by former chief of staff Marcel Urlings, Stephan de Spiegeleire, strategic analyst at HCSS and MP for the Christian Democrats Raymond Knops (former military himself)
Please view the interview at: www.vpro.nl/programma/buitenhof/afleveringen/44673606/