Kevin Drum in an appropriately titled piece "American Exceptionalism" in Mother Jones reflects on what the cuts to the British military mean for the United States. The British government decided that their draconian budget cuts had to affect the military as well as the entire social welfare state.
This means that the UK will be able to carry out one enduring brigade-level operation with up to 6,500 personnel, compared to the 10,000 now in Afghanistan, plus two smaller interventions at any one time. The Brits will continue to built two aircraft carriers, although they will have no planes for them until 2020. That's because the existing fleet of Harriers will be scrapped immediately.
What all this means in laymen language is that the United States will have virtually the only expeditionary force left on the planet. While other countries can defend themselves or send troops across the border, there's almost no capacity left for projecting any force any further than that anywhere in the world.
This is the one area where "American exceptionalism is truly a fact."
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