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Probably because they spend less on the military and more on their people. But would they be able to do that if they couldn't rely on US protection via NATO? I
by klipt 6y ago
Probably because they spend less on the military and more on their people.
But would they be able to do that if they couldn't rely on US protection via NATO? If the US suddenly disappeared, would Europe be ripe for invasion by, say, Russia?
- sudhirj 6y agoThe European nations have been dealing with Russia since before there was an America, and it’s not clear that Russia would benefit from forced occupation of countries that don’t already have a large population that supported it. Irrespective of whether the Crimea annexation was legal, the population there already had a signification portion of people who supported it. Russia trying to march into France or Germany, for instance, wouldn’t be a fun thing for anyone, including Russia.
- siculars 6y agoThey do what they do because they have the US protecting them. Also, Liberty is taken for granted until you dont have it.
- jmnicolas 6y agoNATO protection is a myth. Do you really believe the US would risk nuclear war with Russia just for Europe? But why do you believe Russia would risk nuclear war just for Europe, what would they gain?
- andruby 6y agoFrance and the UK have a few hundred operational nukes. Even though Russia has more than a thousand, I doubt they’d risk it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_...
- triceratops 6y agoAgainst Russia, I'd back an Anglo-French-German alliance any day.
- SuoDuanDao 6y agoSurely you mean you'd back the defender?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- inglor_cz 6y agoEurope as a whole no. Baltic states yes. Moscow views them as lost provinces with nontrivial Russian minorities, blocking land access to Kaliningrad.
- jariel 6y agoEuropeans do underspend on their own security, and Russia is a threat, but not quite in the 'all out invasion' sense. But 'military spending' is a pretty small part of the 'difference between wealth creation' factors on either side of the Atlantic.