ABSTRACT
The Policy Framework suggested that Britain's place in the world was 'determined by our interests', which is true in part. Mr. Robertson in his evidence to the Select Committee on Defence stated 'that Britain will use its assets to the full' in support of its foreign policy. SDR proceeded from this foreign policy base to calculate the forces required, only at the last minute to come up against the Treasury's assessment of the resources available. The Treasury view of Britain's place in the world was different from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's perception but the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) process was not repeated to debate the issue of Britain's place and to adjust the policy. At the outset then, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had to contend with the very essentials of strategy: that it addresses an uncertain future, it is dependent on assumptions and there is an existing legacy from the past.
