NATO funding.

[Workingman]

Trump has said that if he were to become POTUS he would not jump in to defend NATO members who do not meet the 2% of GDP threshold on defence spending. Is he right?

Only 11 of the 30 members meet the 2% target, one being the UK, and nine of them have only minor GDPs, but some countries with big GDPs fall well short. They include Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Canada.

He does have a point. The missing funds could really boost NATO's ability to step in in all sorts of conflicts and emergencies. Look at the Red Sea and the Houthi attacks. Only the US and UK are taking action to try to stop them, but it is a global problem and a major one for European countries. A lot of their import and export trade goes through the Suez Canal but what are they doing? Sod all. Most of them are in NATO.

If we are all in it together then we do have to pull together.

[TheOstrich]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... urope.html

As much as I hate to agree with anything that strutting martinet says, yes, he does have a valid point. He said it when he was in office last time, so his comments now are surely no surprise.

It should be a huge wake up call for all European countries. Most of the countries bordering Russia are well aware of the risks of Putin carrying out another "special military operation", especially through the Suwalki Gap to Kaliningrad, and these countries are pulling their weight on defence spending. Deficient European contributors like Germany, Belgium and Spain need to step up to the plate.

And let's face it, so does the UK. Only 2.07% GDP on defense spending in 2023, and two aircraft carriers which are not fit for purpose.

[Suff]

The whole point about NATO countries funding their defence capabilities is that with the best will in the world the US and UK will take at least a week to get resources and equipment in place to fend off any aggressor.

This spending is supposed to give the other NATO countries time to get in and start defending.

If they won't even spend to defend themselves even for a week or two, why the hell should we bust our butts trying to help them.

There are contributions and there are commitments. NATO is a commitment thing but all too many believe it is a contribution thing and see the contributions as "negotiable".

All too many EU countries have fallen into the fallacy that economic might is the same as military might. Yes they sanctioned Russia's ass off and they just kept going.

So perhaps these countries might want to revisit Germany in 1939. A country with a sovereign debt crisis. Who lied and borrowed their way out of depression and created a huge military with the money. Then they invaded, cancelled the debt and took over.

Anyone who reads history want to look for a parallel? These EU countries need a very short and very sharp shock. Trump is the person to deliver it.

[Workingman]

Oh, FFS the EU and Europe are not the same. Give it a rest.

European nations; all of them, need to get together and form a bulwark against Russia, yes, even those who are not in the EU or NATO.

A European Military force?

[cromwell]

As much as I hate to agree with anything that strutting martinet says, yes, he does have a valid point. He said it when he was in office last time, so his comments now are surely no surprise.

It's not only Trump Os, Obama said it before him.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/blo ... urse-he-is

Our two per cent spending also includes military pensions, so we're not quite as virtuous as we seem at first glance.

[Workingman]

A new report says that global military spending has risen by 9% to $2.2trn. Most of it is down to China building up its naval fleet and nuclear weapons.

This is not good news.

One day China will become the world's leading superpower, and when it does all nuclear bets are off. We, all of us, really do have to talk.

Even relative minnows such as Iran and Slovakia are producing cheap throwaway drones capable of wiping out a whole neighbourhood. Nazi Germany was ahead of the game with its Doodlebugs and V-2 rockets but the world is catching up.

Fit small nukes to these modern drones and send them over in waves and some will get through. Goodnight Vienna!

[Suff]

You think talking will stop Iran? Do join the real world. They are ruled by religious fanatics of a small sect of Islam.

As for China most analysts get this wrong. China is on a 100 year build out to take back Taiwan. When it does it will collapse the entire world economy because Taiwan produces 50% of world semiconductors and the rest of the world will have to stop and build out their own capacity.

China is building the naval and ground defence forces to ensure they cannot be stopped. Then they are going to build the amphibious attack craft to take Taiwan. By which time nobody will be able to stop them. Talking will do no good. China is going to take back Taiwan no matter how long it takes and all the talking in the world is not going to stop it. The only way they could stop it now is to cripple China from becoming the largest economy in the world and that is not going to happen because it would cost the west too much right now.

Putin is a bull in the China shop compared to China itself. (pun intended).

The only way this does not happen is if the world aligns against these kind of acts and tells large states that they simply cannot just do what they want. This starts with throwing Russia out of Ukraine, not "talking". You might as well talk to a rabid dog.

[Workingman]

So, "talking" will do no good but "telling" large states that they cannot do what they want will work?

I don't think so. It is not even working with some smaller states and it certainly will not with Russia and China nor the US.

[Suff]

Talking is not working and telling is not working. But you have a classic example of what is working I Gaza right now.

It has always worked and will always work. But the price is always horrific.

[cromwell]

The politicians who keep banging on about "a two state solution" - I don't understand them.

Hamas want to kill all the Jews, end of. There can't be any peaceful solution with them. As for Qatar "brokering a solution", the leaders of Hamas live in Qatar, so I wouldn't place too much faith in that.