Churchill stated in a 1955 speech that deterrence would be "the parents of disarmament" and that, unless Britain contributed to Western deterrence with its own weapons, during a war the targets that threatened it the most might not be prioritised. The Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, advanced the position that nuclear weapons would give Britain influence over targeting and American policy, and would affect strategy in the Middle East and Far East. His Minister of Defence, Duncan Sandys, considered that nuclear weapons reduced Britain's dependence on the United States. The 1956 Suez Crisis demonstrated that Britain was no longer a great power, but increased the value to Britain of an independent nuclear deterrent that would give it greater influence with the US and USSR. While the military target of British nuclear weapons was the Soviet Union, the political target was the United States.