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Overcommitment to NATO turns Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker in Europe
standtogether.org ^ | June 8, 2023

Posted on 06/09/2023 5:32:59 AM PDT by elpadre

America has long been the biggest military spender of any of its allies, but other nations aren’t holding up their end of the bargain. It’s time to rethink NATO burden sharing, says Justin Logan of the Cato Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank that studies many public policy issues, including a more restrained foreign policy that keeps the U.S. strong for future generations.

As of last year, the U.S. can include 50 of the world’s countries as formal allies, plus dozens of other informal partnerships. The U.S. shoulders a vastly disproportionate amount of the economic burden: While U.S. allies account for about 36% of world economic output, they contribute just 24% of global military spending.

This imbalance allows allies to spend money on domestic priorities while U.S. taxpayers pick up the tab for their national security. Every U.S. president since Eisenhower has called this out, but the solution is far from simple. It likely involves reevaluating our alliances, pulling back from firm commitments, and following a three-pronged approach to spurring allies to take on more economic responsibility involving institutions, military deployments, and diplomatic signals.

Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, recently published a policy analysis breaking down this financial tradition. Here, he answers some questions about how we can reset the table and improve NATO burden sharing with our allies.

(Excerpt) Read more at standtogether.org ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: military; nato
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1 posted on 06/09/2023 5:32:59 AM PDT by elpadre
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To: elpadre

Trump was well on the path to having NATO pay its fair share for their own defense.

So, like every other Trump policy, has Joe Biden has reversed this one as well?


2 posted on 06/09/2023 5:37:29 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: elpadre
Ukrainian Armored Columns Got SMASHED and AMBUSHED

NATO equipment and NATO trained NAZIs up in smoke .

3 posted on 06/09/2023 5:38:57 AM PDT by csvset (tolerance becomes a crime when attached to evil)
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To: elpadre

Drivelous balderdash


4 posted on 06/09/2023 5:40:49 AM PDT by bert ( (KWE. NP. N.C. +12) Juneteenth is inequality day )
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To: elpadre

NATO nations not paying their fair share to support NAZIS in Ukraine makes sense. Biden, woke generals and leftist POSs in congress wanting to support NAZIS makes sense. That goes for Zeepers on FR too.


5 posted on 06/09/2023 5:43:33 AM PDT by ConservativeInPA ("How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. "Two ways," Mike said. "Gradually and then suddenly." )
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To: elpadre

Equal partners, everyone pays, or replease NATO flag with US flag, or quite NATO.


6 posted on 06/09/2023 5:50:57 AM PDT by Reno89519 (Donald Tantrum? No Thank You. We Can Do Better! I am a Veteran Supporting Veteran DeSantis.)
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To: Yo-Yo

NATO needs to dissolve. The best way for those other “allies” to pay their share is to have no fall back and have to pay for their own military and defense.


7 posted on 06/09/2023 5:52:18 AM PDT by dforest
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To: Yo-Yo

“”Trump was well on the path to having NATO pay its fair share for their own defense.””

The Russian invasion has changed a lot of that by increasing military budgets, reinvigorating militaries and military support, and increasing weapons and ammo manufacturing with new money, interest, and factories, new important NATO members, and even new unity and sense of NATO mission importance.


8 posted on 06/09/2023 5:57:06 AM PDT by ansel12 (NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.)
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To: elpadre

All these position papers are all very nice. But we are now in a war with a class of totalitarian destructive fanatic lunatics who have taken power and will not willingly reliquish it. The time for scribbling is over.


9 posted on 06/09/2023 6:00:16 AM PDT by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: Yo-Yo

Europe has reversed this one. Or, rather, Putin has. Military budgets are increasing all over Europe.


10 posted on 06/09/2023 6:02:37 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: dforest

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2023/04/04/macron-sends-438-billion-military-budget-plan-to-french-parliament/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-15/germany-to-lift-defense-spending-by-up-to-10-billion-next-year#:~:text=Germany%20to%20Hike%20Defense%20Budget%20by%20Up%20to%20%E2%82%AC10%20Billion%20in%202024


11 posted on 06/09/2023 6:05:22 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: dforest

> NATO needs to dissolve.

Absolutely. It is just another bureaucracy preserving itself for the employee benefits. It’s geopolitical reason for being ended when the berlin wall came down a generation ago.


12 posted on 06/09/2023 6:06:16 AM PDT by glorgau
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To: Reno89519

https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/01/31/poland-to-spend-4-of-gdp-on-defence-this-year-highest-current-level-in-nato/

Happening all over Europe. Thank Putin.


13 posted on 06/09/2023 6:07:16 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: glorgau

You are behind the times. Everyone loves Nato now. Thank Putin.


14 posted on 06/09/2023 6:08:12 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: elpadre

The Ukies have taken care of the Russkis. We don’t need NATO anymore. It always was one of those ridiculous dumbass international organizations that the U.S. had to pay for. They all need to be shut down. NATO, the UN, WHO, all of them.


15 posted on 06/09/2023 6:08:50 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (The southern invasion has been a big success. Foreigner invaders are running the government now.)
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To: Seruzawa

I see. So you intend to take to the hills to conduct a guerilla insurgency then?


16 posted on 06/09/2023 6:09:33 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: buwaya

Let’s see. The Germans get 30 days vacation/yr. We get 2 weeks. Are we working that extra 2 weeks for them?


17 posted on 06/09/2023 6:11:16 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
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To: FlingWingFlyer

“The Ukies have taken care of the Russkis.”

Not yet. And certainly not on their own.


18 posted on 06/09/2023 6:11:18 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: elpadre

Uncle Sam = Uncle Sucker... Yeah, that’s us alright.


19 posted on 06/09/2023 6:11:29 AM PDT by unread ("It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required." W. Churchill.)
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To: elpadre

I’ve only been saying it for 30 years............


20 posted on 06/09/2023 6:13:50 AM PDT by FLT-bird
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