On paper, the Americans are getting what they’ve long demanded.
A Europe that spends much more on defense and is much less reliant on Washington for its security. But Donald Trump may not like what American pressure is creating.
Leader after leader from Europe took to the podium of the Munich Security Conference on Friday and talked about boosting military budgets and reframing the transatlantic alliance as a “NATO 3.0.”
But then they followed that with hard-edged appeals to European patriotism and calls for the continent to boost its own arms, space and tech sectors to be less dependent on outsiders — including the United States.
Quite funny how the rethoric has been that Europe should pay its own defences, and now the US is losing the cost sharing of its own as Europe invests in its own industries rather than keeping those of the US flowing.
I can’t tell if he’s going to come out and take credit for this as he tricked Europe into funding their military and he’s a genius.
meanwhile the cost to US the soft power and economy is going to be immeasurable and last for at least an entire generation.
Post world war 2 doctrine has stood for 80 years. I’d say that’s closer to 4 generations. If the sleeping giant that is western europe awakens, then that’s no bad thing for the world