NATO - USA

Worth reading

Having agreed to increase their military spending to 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the European states have created a series of problems for themselves.

The first problem is that they would have to invent the money out of their tight budgets. To raise their military expenditure to 5% of GDP would require them to reduce their social spending – in other words, to deepen the austerity policies that are already in place. In Germany, for instance, 21.1% of the population faces the risk of poverty or social exclusion. …

The second problem is that despite the disbursement of money to the military, Europe simply does not have the production lines ready to roll out tanks and missiles at the required pace. …

NATO has no real threats, only expensive hallucinations.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/06/30/the-north-atlantic-treaty-organizations-hallucinations/

ASIA TIMES – July 1, 2025 – In Trump’s game, the US and China win and Europe pays the bill

Lacking the ability to enforce its interests, Europe mustn’t keep subsidizing US arms make

In the opening moves of Trump’s second presidency, a pattern has emerged: Washington sets the agenda, Beijing adapts with precision, and Brussels capitulates. What emerges is a bipolar order where Europe has relegated itself to the role of financier and cheerleader.

Trump plays poker, Xi plays go and Europe struggles with simple puzzles. Within five months, Trump secured defense spending commitments previous presidents only theorized about. While China’s rare earth export restrictions forced Washington into rapid recalibration, Europe responded with nothing but hollow laments. The asymmetry reveals everything: One bloc wields leverage, another answers with resolve, and the third writes checks. …

https://asiatimes.com/2025/07/in-trumps-game-the-us-and-china-win-and-europe-pays-the-bill/#