Hi;
Sec Def Gates covers no new ground. I recall the heated disagreements in the mid 80's over "why Europe wasn't spending enough and leaving the US with that largish burden ... " at a time when the Cold War was in full flower.
This is a running sore that is part of NATO state of play, any date.
Introducing Gates to the audience, former NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called for solidarity from NATO countries. He lamented the "uncoordinated budget cuts we're witnessing in NATO and the EU" and the lack of balance in burden-sharing between the U.S. and European allies.
This isn't new either.
SSDD