The new Army chief Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith warns that Russia is now “indisputably” a greater threat to the security of Britain and her allies than Islamist extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State

His comments come as ISIS is on the retreat in the Middle East and the mantra of ‘evil Russia’ is making a comeback in the hearts and minds of British strategists. ‘Russia today indisputably represents a far greater threat to our national security than Islamic extremist threats such as al-Qaeda and Isil (also known as Isis).’

Gen Carleton-Smith, who graduated from Sandhurst in the final years of the Cold War, took over as chief of the general staff in June. "Russia today indisputably represents a far greater threat to our national security than Islamic extremist threats" such as Al-Qaeda and IS, Carleton-Smith said in his first interview since becoming chief of Britain's General Staff in June.The 54-year-old former SAS commander said Moscow had "embarked on a systematic effort to explore and exploit Western vulnerabilities, particularly in some of the nontraditional areas of cyber-, space, undersea warfare. London has blamed the country’s military intelligence service for orchestrating the poisoning with a nerve agent of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury in March. “We cannot be complacent about the threat Russia poses or leave it uncontested.”

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The 54-year-old former SAS commander led the search for slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and was at the forefront of Britain’s role in the campaign to combat the IS in Iraq and Syria.
The British Army Chief of the General Staff, Mark Carleton-Smith, says Russia is a "far greater threat" to the United Kingdom's national security than the Islamic State.