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Nobody is expected to take the 5% goal seriously. Even the US has not reached that level since 1992, with the current defense spending at 3.4%. If the US decid
by jltsiren 2y ago
Nobody is expected to take the 5% goal seriously. Even the US has not reached that level since 1992, with the current defense spending at 3.4%.
If the US decided to leave NATO completely, European military spending might stabilize somewhere around 3%, with lower spending in the west and higher in the east. At that level, the overall spending would be a bit below US figures in absolute terms and higher than the US in PPP terms.
- verzali 2y agoHow can you say that? People have consistently said not to take Trump seriously. But he does seem serious about imposing tariffs, abandoning allies, annexing random parts of the world, and about drastically cutting the government. Why shouldn't we take the 5% thing seriously? What can be more serious than this anyway?
- jltsiren 2y agoBecause 3% would already be enough to make the US irrelevant for European security. At that level of spending, the combined military power of European NATO member states would eventually be comparable to the US. If Trump kept insisting for more, European leaders would just call his bluff. And maybe even secretly hope that the unreliable partner would leave NATO.
- rnd0 2y agoTrump is a puppet. The people pulling his strings, however, should be taken very seriously. This video breaks down who those people are as well as what their motivations are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RpPTRcz1no https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RpPTRcz1no
- ChocolateGod 2y ago> If the US decided to leave NATO completely If the US decided to leave NATO, given much of the hostility to it is because it's seen by countries like Russia to extend US influence and troops, I wouldn't be surprised if European countries could spend less on defence.