Free to read: Nato allies at odds over response to Russian aggression http://t.co/Q54sdlBL1l pic.twitter.com/0l6SmE4xKv
— Financial Times (@FT) September 1, 2014Nato Allies At Odds Over Response To Russian Aggression -- Financial Times
In late March, Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, made a plea to Nato: put 10,000 troops in Poland, permanently, he asked.
But to the consternation of many in Poland and the Baltics, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, last week slapped down any notion of Nato boots in a long-term positioning on eastern European soil during a visit to Latvia.
In the wake of Russia’s land-grab in Ukraine, the debate over how Nato should respond has been an impassioned one that threatens to divide the alliance.
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My Comment: NATO is in disarray right now. No leadership from the White House. And as for Europe .... a limit on how far they will go.
3 comments:
The NATO charter says that each country will devote 4% of their national budget to defense. Most European countries did not do this. they were not serious. They relied on America and used the ~2 percentage point saving on social welfare.
In addition to giving the military budget short shrift, the political leaders and intelligentsia did so in the broader culture.
So now we have this.
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I have not heard one European relative consider joining the military as a profession or for patriotism or for any other reason or combination of reasons. It is just not spoken of. That says a lot about a culture.
You're right Aizino. It's nothing more than a social club.
The European reluctance to have an effective military is .... historically ....a unique event. Is this a blip in it's history .... or a fundamental shift in the culture ... I guess we will know n a few years.
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