The Morning Rant: NATO...An Idea Whose Time Is Past

The population of the countries comprising NATO is about 980 million people. If one subtracts the population of the United States, it is about 635 million people, or 1.8X the population of the United States. Yet the NATO countries spend far less per capita on their militaries (≈$975) than does the USA (≈$2,800), and far less in absolute terms; the USA spends about 1.6X what the rest of NATO spends. And it is actually worse, because a portion of America's defense budget is spent in Europe, maintaining our bases and paying our personnel, whereas Europe's infrastructure and personnel expenditure is primarily domestic.

Of course they use the money we spend and they don't on a cradle-to-grave welfare state that has crippled most of Europe and turned a once great region into a post-modern mess of accommodation, hatred of nationalism and patriotism, massive guilt for their previous success, and worst of all, a simmering hatred of all things American ... including our military!

In addition to the ridiculous imbalance in defense spending, not all of the member states of NATO are comfortable with its mutual defense requirements. In fact, Spain is unabashedly anti-American, and refused use of its American bases for the effort against the mad Mullahs of Iran. Turkey's loyalties are suspect because of its close relationships with countries and movements that are explicitly anti-American, anti-West, and support Islamic expansionism. Italy has also refused the use of Sigonella Air Base in Sicily, and France has restricted flights over its territory.

The reality is that NATO and Europe are happy to benefit from our underwriting of their defense, but are unwilling to perform the basic functions of allies, including even pro forma participation in an effort to destroy the nuclear aspirations of a country that is an avowed enemy of the West and has stated explicitly for the last 47 years that its goal is the destruction of the West and the ushering in of an Islamic state. And let us not forget its less lofty goals of supporting Islamic terrorism across the world that has killed thousands, including in Europe!

The benefit of NATO for America has clearly faded, and the costs are simply too much to bear. The original function has been subsumed in a mass of bureaucratic waste, competing national priorities, and most of all the shrinking of the world-wide Soviet threat into a regional player that can't project its military might more than 100 miles into its neighbor.

Should we leave NATO? Yes. Is it politically possible? Probably not, but the administration, through the Department of War can reorient our NATO effort to one more focused on real strategic threats and in countries that are less virulently and reflexively anti-American. In other words...punish our enemies and reward our friends. And if that means moving our bases from Spain and the UK and Italy to Israel and Poland, then so be it.

It is no longer the responsibility of the American taxpayer to buttress European defense. Their economies are successful enough to fund it without our assistance, although they are welcome to purchase our military technology if they are capable of keeping it out of the hands of the Chinese and the Russians.

Perhaps we can sell them our bases!

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]. If you folks who are on X/Twitter would follow us it would be much appreciated!

posted by CBD at 11:00 AM

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