Originally Posted by
West Coast
Gates was 100% correct as were the US Presidents who largely said the same. Trying to diminish a factual statement by calling it simplistic ain’t gonna hold water. Europe underfunded their defenses and then allowed itself to become energy dependent on an adversary which in turn funded their war in Ukraine.
Do you really think that Russia would have armed to the scale it has (well, did) if it wasn't for the USA's post WW2 stance?
Are you trying to suggest that Russia constructed it's armed force to combat Italy or the UK or France or anyone in Europe?
Do you think that Russia has thousand of nuclear weapons to combat the hundreds of Europe’s?
Europe was the USSR's / Russia’s battleground, not their enemy.