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After Trump told the EU to either buy its oil from the US or open the Strait of Hormuz themselves, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a stern letter to Iran and is planning to convene a meeting of 35 nations to discuss what to do.
But what can the Royal Navy do? It has only two aircraft carriers, the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales. Neither has nuclear power, so they require refueling. They have ski-jump takeoffs, so their planes are limited in the armament and fuel load that they can carry. They don't have the CATOBAR catapult launch system of the Nimitz class or the newer EMALS system on the Gerald Ford. The UK purchased only 40 F-35B aircraft for the RAF and RN combined, even though each carrier is designed to carry 36 aircraft. So the RAF and RN have to share an inadequate number of aircraft. In 2024, the Queen Elizabeth sailed on a deployment with just 8 F-35s and 8 helicopters. The Gerald Ford carries 75 aircraft.
There was talk that the Prince of Wales would deploy to the Mediterranean to protect the UK base in Cyprus that Iran has attacked. But no, it will deploy instead to the far North Atlantic and Arctic to respond to increased Russian activity there.
The Royal Navy was for centuries the greatest force afloat. It blocked the Atlantic slave trade. Every country in the world feared what might happen if a Royal Navy ship of the line showed up in its harbor. Today, the UK cannot even defend its military base in Cyprus, let alone open the Strait of Hormuz. Admiral Nelson must be weeping.
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Say "STOP, or I shall say STOP again"
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In addition, His Majesties' government is giving Diego Garcia to the Chinese for no discernible reason whatsoever.
Every once in a great while, you want to tell our "allies," "don't do something ... just stand there."
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After many years of protecting it.
At Britain's subjugation.
If it truly acted in its own interest Great Britain would be paying for oil in Yuan and the petrodollar can go hang. And yes, Israel was set up as an outpost that projected British power but it's been lost to the US. Nelson would have been a realist. imo.
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Say, "We shall say NI to you again if you do not appease us."
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The Royal Navy is the force that ended Slavery in most of the world. Full Stop.
Slavery has existed in the world forever. The concept of ending slavery was the product of Christian Abolitionists who finally were able to enforce that by spending the Blood and Treasure of Great Britain to end it.
Well end it in most of the world. Pockets persisted in Africa and of course much of the Muslim world, where it still exists.
If it truly acted in its own interest Great Britain would deport all the third world invaders they have allowed to colonize them at great cost in wealth and violence. And exploit its own resources in North Sea oil and gas and frack for more. But the same Fabian ideology that destroys its military, imports millions of invaders, and destroys its energy policy are the ones who champion its decline.
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