UK defence cuts risk leaving America to tackle the twin threat of Russia and ISIS on its own , it has been claimed . Retired British army chief General Richard Dannatt suggested there was ‘ no-one else ’ for the US to turn to in Europe . It comes days after a UK think tank predicted that up to 30,000 British service personnel could go leaving the armed forces with a combined strength of just 115,000 by the end of the decade . Retired British army chief General Richard Dannatt ( pictured ) suggested there was ‘ no-one else ’ for the US to turn to in Europe . Now there are fears the United States could be left without a credible partner as it stands up to a number of global security threats . Lord Dannatt , who served as Chief of the General Staff between 2006 and 2009 , told the Washington Post : ‘ If the UK can ’ t do it , who else is the US going to turn to in Europe ? There ’ s no one else. ’ He added : ‘ The concern is that we ’ re going to fall from being a significant player to a bit-part player . ‘ The UK isn ’ t of much use to the US if we don ’ t have a worthwhile military force behind us . Anybody can talk tough . But if you don ’ t back it up , everyone just laughs at you. ’ The comments come a week after the US Army chief of staff General Ray Odierno revealed he was ‘ very concerned ’ about cuts in the British military . A UK think tank predicted that up to 30,000 British service personnel could go leaving the armed forces with a combined strength of just 115,000 by the end of the decade ( file picture ) Earlier this week , the US ambassador to the United Nations , Samantha Power , warned of a ‘ dangerous ’ gulf emerging between American and European spending on defence . She told BBC Radio 4 ’ s Today programme that governments in Europe needed to spend more and that cuts around the continent were ‘ concerning ’ . A defence think tank has warned that up to 30,000 members of Britain ’ s forces face redundancy over the next parliament . It comes as Prime Minister David Cameron faces calls to pledge that funding for the military will be kept above the Nato target of at least 2 per cent of GDP . The 2013-14 defence budget was £34.3billion , down from £35.9billion in 2010-11 , when the coalition took over . It comes after a report by the Royal United Services Institute ( Rusi ) said it was inevitable that Britain 's defence spending would drop below the Nato target in the face of continuing austerity cuts .
Retired British army chief General Ray Odierno says there is 'no-one else ' for US to turn to in Europe . Comes amid fears 30,000 British personnel could go by end of the decade . US army chief of staff General Richard Dannatt ‘ very concerned ’ about cuts in the British military .