Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, NATO Supreme Allied Commander, speaks to members of U.S. European Command about his four command priorities at Patch Barracks, Germany, Sept. 20, 2017. MARTIN GREESON/U.S. ARMY
Stars and Stripes: Russia closing gap with NATO, top US general in Europe warns
STUTTGART Germany — NATO’s military edge over Russia could soon be threatened if allies fail to keep adapting, the alliance’s top general warned on Wednesday.
U.S. Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said Russia’s military modernization efforts are challenging allies in a range of areas such as cybersecurity.
“Because of the modernization they’ve made, while we are dominant, we will not be in five years ... if we are not adapting,” Scaparrotti said during a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Scaparrotti, who also serves as head of U.S. European Command, said he and his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, have agreed to meet soon in an effort to improve communication and reduce the risks miscalculation. The meeting would be the first face-to-face encounter between the top NATO and Russian commanders since Moscow’s 2014 intervention in Ukraine.
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WNU Editor: The U.S. and NATO spend 20x what Russia spends on defense .... Russia will not close the gap with NATO.
Update: I said 50x earlier .... it is actually around 20x
4 comments:
We spend it on corruption and big CEO cheques apparently
"The U.S. and NATO spend 50x what Russia spends on defense .... Russia will not close the gap with NATO."
+1
Its a lame tactic being used by the pentagon, to get more funds, nothing more and nothing less. Chicken Little, sky is falling , crying wolf.
Anonymous,
You are certainly correct that we spend a great deal on corruption and big bonuses for CEOs who contribute little to nothing to the product. As the editor pointed out some time ago, large organizations tend to be fat, slow, dumb, and ugly. I find this observation made by the editor to oftentimes be spot on. There are times when it appears this observation may apply to NATO. Please note the opposite to this is lean, fast, brilliant, and beautiful.
I've actually pointed this out here and elsewhere numerous times. How much a country spends on its military is the least important measure of how a country stacks up against another country militarily. It is a bit like "time of possession" in American football which experts have called "the least important statistic." In the case of military prowess, how much money a country is spending is of less importance than even time of possession in American football. When the pundits move the least important stat to the most important, at best, their analysis will be incomplete. At worst, it will be completely inaccurate if not fraudulent.
I'm not suggesting it is unimportant per say just that it is the least important. As such, simply because the US and NATO spend 20x the amount that Russia does not mean Russia will not "close the gap." In fact, Russia may have already closed the gap and overtaken the US. US leaders are typically slow to recognize threats and when they do they tend to underestimate them while overestimating both our capabilities and the amount of support that can be expected from "allies." It may be the fat, slow, dumb, and ugly tendency of large organizations at work.
Again, Russia may have already surpassed the United States and the good general may be tardy in understanding this. The only way to "know" is to have a hot war which we don't need, can't afford, and lack the resources to prosecute effectively. If we MUST do it, we need to utilize some form of negotiations so we can stall for time allowing us to build up our military capabilities so as to maximize our chances of winning.
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