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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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To: BobL

So frequently your shallow silliness still amazes.


41 posted on 06/09/2023 8:24:04 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: BobL; buwaya

Some of us were actually there and serving with those NATO countries and spending time inside of those militaries, and during the Russian-instigated anti-NATO/America/Reagan demonstrations.

You continue to reveal that know nothing about those years and NATO military readiness.


42 posted on 06/09/2023 9:43:44 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

Neither NATO nor the UN serve the US’s best interests (when was the last time the UN won a war, anyway?) and we should have stopped funding either of them decades ago.


43 posted on 06/09/2023 10:10:03 AM PDT by Paal Gulli
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To: ansel12

“You continue to reveal that know nothing about those years and NATO military readiness.”

Russia is SPANKING the Neocons!


44 posted on 06/09/2023 1:20:34 PM PDT by BobL
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