Yes, that’s like administration of NATO. it’s not even a fraction of the actual spending. It’s not the military budget at all, which is VERY misleading. It’s actually an irrelevant piece of information. No, Europe is not at all pulling it’s weight.
It's not all black and white, checking NATO spendings by country is far from the whole picture. US spends the most for military since forever, but also gets the most out of it. Playing a global sheriff in less powerful countries such as Afganistan, Iraq, etc. (we all know it was primarily for the oil, the "terrorists" were just the scapegoat), enforcing article 5 on 9/11, forcing monopoly petro dollar all over the world (which can be printed any time US desires out of thin air), selling US made weaponry to NATO, etc. Those are all the things that benefit noone else but US. The tide does seem to be changing with Trump though. You guys are isolating yourselves, which is not a problem if that's what you desire, but you will be losing the benefits as well.
Afghanistan didn’t have oil, and Iraq didn’t even really sell to the US directly. It did help depress worldwide oil prices. Americans don’t benefit from weapon sales, a very small number of Americans at Lockheed Martin and Raytheon do, two of the most corrupt companies on earth. We aren’t isolating ourselves, we’re simply ending the free ride. When someone has enjoyed special privileges for years, a fair deal can feel abusive, but we just want Europe to pull its weight.
Honestly, we can’t afford to pull as much as we have in the past. The meager benefits of being despised and taken advantage of, well at least we won’t be taken advantage of. America is still here for Europe, but only if Europe is here for Europe, at the least.
Last time I checked a small number of Americans is still Americans. It means we're spending hundreds of billions on your companies, instead of supporting local economy. As said, the tides are changing though, as EU seems to be transitioning to local weaponry that don't have "kill switch" and isn't US dependant. It's almost like you think US has been single handedly defending everyone else for centuries. Don't forget that while you did pay more, you still paid only 66% of it. Hundreds of allied lives have also been lost in your Afganistan/Iraq conflict - how do you put a price on those? And, again, US, while spending the most, got by far the most out it.
Not sure how you feel that in the US, but I can tell you one thing. In international eyes, your current leadrship seems very unstable (tarrifs yes, tarrifs no, tarrifs yes, tarrifs no, Greenland=51 state, let's invade Canada, fuck Ukraine, let's spend billions on Israel instead, because "terrorists", etc.) and, we, your biggest allies (EU, Canada, Australia, Mexico?) see and feel you less as an ally day by day.
Buy whatever inferior equipment you wish. I would love Europe to be an ally with an industrial base, but this is all a fantasy. Europe is too far behind.
We don’t feel it at all in the US if you stop ALL purchases of defense equipment from us. Really, I’m not being glib.
I guess the answer changes when you ask the other half of the US population. The lack of spending and US isolating itself hasn't even really started yet. Whether you'll feel it down the road or not, only time will tell. Farewell....
If the US saying “Pay your fair share” and “We’ll force you to pay the same tariffs you force us to pay” is too isolating for Europe, you were never our allies.
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u/mmixLinus Sweden Mar 18 '25
Yes, I got it mixed up a bit:
The "cost share for civil budget, military budget and NATO Security Investment Programme" is currently as follows:
Source: https://www.nato.int/cps/em/natohq/topics_67655.htm