We are no longer aligned with Europe’s vision for how it must protect itself. What he is describing is directly in conflict with America’s best interests:
We can prevent the next big war on #NATO territory and preserve our way of life.
— Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) December 12, 2024
This requires us all to be faster and fiercer.
It is time to shift to a wartime mindset.
And turbo-charge our defence production and defence spending. pic.twitter.com/J0ZF0LrbVs
I think we should be stocked with the proper instruments of war, But there is no sense in precipitous acts that lead to conflict.
When he says it’s time to shift to a wartime mindset, that is where he lost me, Fred. Perhaps he needs to say this to get the European countries to spend more, but that is really a bit much.
The US should exit NATO. The enemies to freedom in most of those countries are their existing leaders, not some external threat. There is not a lot of freedom left in Britain, France, Romania (elections just voided) or Germany worth defending.
Additionally, they might behave better were they not the children of US protectorate–at the expense of US taxpayers. Adults responsible for themselves tend to behave better than dependent children.
I agree, Healey. The world has changed. Europe is no longer part of “the free world”. The entire basis for NATO was “the free world” defending itself against the Soviet Union.
And of course, just as in the United States, a big part of the problem in these countries is how their people vote.