Meanwhile in European NATO members:
450 million rich Europeans who together spend 227B Euro on defense but need the help from 325 million rich Americans to defend against 144 million “poor” Russians who spend a measly 55B Euro.
European NATO members just waste money:
comparison with the US:
Europe has 178 different weapon systems,
US 38.
Europe has 17 different tanks, US 1.
Europe has 29 different frigates, US 4.
Europe has 20 different jet fighters, US 6.
Yes I believe the European NATO members should spend 2 percent, but that is not the problem. The problem is lack of standardization. This fragmentation is because all European NATO members are sovereign nations.
An EU Defense Force who could act as a single entity would be a huge part of the solution. In the past most European nations were happy to be under uncle Sam’s umbrella but Trump has shown that this protection is not a given.
Some quibbles on numbers, but generally I agree (that surprises me as much as it does you Saul). The cynic in me thinks standardisation will actually be 27 nations buying whatever Germany and France want to sell them rather than what provides the best capability, but there you go.