Retired US Army General Raymond Odierno told a British military conference in the US that "significant-sized" land forces are needed for governments to reach their goals.
Sputnik spoke to Professor Anthony Glees, Director of Buckingham University's Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, about the current size and state of the UK army.
Professor Glees believes that the UK government is simply "cutting their cloth to suit their means."
"Too small — well this is relative. The UK government has to make important decisions when it comes to defense, and one of them concerns the budget. The UK government have to ensure the country has adequate defense systems in place, but all they are simply doing is cutting their cloth according to their means," Professor Glees told Sputnik.
Lariam is banned in many countries due to its widely reported psychotic effects. However, it seems due to technological failures the drug is still being prescribed to UK troops deployed to war zones around the world.
"What we are seeing now with the UK government is that IT issues are occurring across the board. In the wake of the dreadful fire in Grenfell Tower, and now the issues facing the military and other services, what we are witnessing is an inability to deliver from the UK government," Professor Glees told Sputnik.
Eliot Cohen, a professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, US backed General Odierno's comments.
"Firstly, your military is too small. There is no question about that. If you cut it further it will be bad news… because numbers matter," Professor Cohen said in a recent statement.
