“But the larger problem with demanding that America’s nato partners spend 2 percent—or 4 percent—on defense is that it assumes Europe’s biggest threats are military. The 2-percent figure dates from 2014, when the Obama administration pushed through a statement pledging that nato members “aim to move towards the 2% guideline within a decade.” Back then, Russia had just annexed Crimea. And when asked why nato countries should spend 2 percent, experts often cite the fear that Russia—having invaded Ukraine—might invade nato countries like Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.
But that’s extremely unlikely. In his almost 20 years in power, Vladimir Putin has intervened militarily in Ukraine and Georgia, countries that are not nato members, likely in part because he knew doing so would not risk war with the United States and its major allies. But since nato members are bound to defend one another, invading Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia—which host troops from Britain, France, Germany, and Canada on their soil—would risk exactly that. When Putin contemplates such a conflict, he’s surely aware that nato spends more than 13 times as much as Russia on defense. Even if you didn’t count U.S. spending, the other members combined spend more than four times as much as Russia. And that’s without most of them reaching the 2 percent of GDP goal.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/07/trump-nato-defense-four-percent/564911/
This is not “old” stuff and it goes to the heart of today’s problem. And, it wasn’t leftists who said shit like that but right winger patriots too who thought we didn’t need NATO and shouldn’t give a damn about Europe.
What a RESET now, eh?
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