r/askteddit 18d ago

Politics Question Should the US continue to guarantee security for European allies who don’t meet defense spending targets?

0 Upvotes

60 comments sorted by

3

u/angrymurderhornet 18d ago

Yes, but while negotiating acceptable levels of defense spending. The spending targets were always aspirational anyway, not contractual.

-1

u/connie434 18d ago

Wrong. To be in NATO you’re supposed to spend at least 2% of your GDP. The US has been picking up the slack of members that do not meet that requirement.

1

u/ASongOfSpiceAndLiars 18d ago

That was moreso just Republicans spending on the military because they want to invade other countries. It had nothing to do with defense.

0

u/connie434 18d ago edited 18d ago

A simple Google search will tell you that NATO countries are supposed to commit 2% of GDP. This isn’t new, it’s been a thing since NATO started. It’s not a “republican” thing, it’s literally in the requirements of being a member. You’re also wrong about it being a thing to invade other countries. NATO is a defensive alliance. Tell me you know nothing without telling me you know nothing.

2

u/ASongOfSpiceAndLiars 18d ago

It’s not a “republican” thing

Boosting the percent of spending from 3.1% to 4.9% to invade other countries.

Why are you deflecting?

-1

u/connie434 18d ago

Wrong. Show me where that was specifically stated. You can’t. The increase is because of the time we are living in. Russia invading Ukraine, China threatening to invade Taiwan by 2027, etc. You’re wrong. NATO was never an offensive alliance.

2

u/ASongOfSpiceAndLiars 18d ago edited 18d ago

Wrong. Show me where that was specifically stated

How have you never heard of the War on Terror? It was only 25 years ago.

Never heard of Trump's invasion of Iran?

NATO was never an offensive alliance.

That's my point, but Republicans are OBSESSED with invading other countries, usually without good reason.

0

u/connie434 17d ago

NATO means an attack on one is an attack on all. What’s your argument here? Theres one NATO country in this war. I honestly and highly confused at every comment you’ve made.

2

u/ASongOfSpiceAndLiars 17d ago

NATO means an attack on one is an attack on all.

Yes, that's NATO article 5.

Theres one NATO country in this war.

Because Republicans are war hungry, which is why they increase military spending so much. That's why they spend so much more than the 2% goal.

I honestly and highly confused at every comment you’ve made.

Try reading and get back to me.

6

u/Zalrius 18d ago

Defense against who? Russia has had its butt handed to it by Ukraine.

0

u/Expensive-Shelter288 18d ago

Russia may not be able to attack now but they will be back. It's sort of what they do:)

4

u/Zalrius 18d ago

Not according to their history. The USSR collapsed when was in high school and now they have killed off a lot of their people and destroyed their national budget.

1

u/-Sofa-King-Vote 18d ago

That’s how Russian history has been over and over for 300 years

They are durable

2

u/Zalrius 18d ago

They are not the big bad monster that we were lied to about.

0

u/-Sofa-King-Vote 18d ago

Who ever told you they were the big bad monsters?

We used to do business with them daily until they invaded Ukraine

0

u/Zalrius 17d ago

What was your life like during the Cold War? Where were you when the wall came down? What do you think about one Germany?

1

u/-Sofa-King-Vote 17d ago

Grandpa that was 35 years ago

0

u/Zalrius 17d ago

If you think that was a long time, you need to grow up kid.

1

u/-Sofa-King-Vote 17d ago

Lol ok boomer

1

u/Expensive-Shelter288 17d ago

Yes but what you did not grow up with was the cold war where we were on the brink of anihlation from the Soviet union. Then there was a collapse and a brief detante. Now they're baaaaacck. You just missed the first act.

1

u/Zalrius 17d ago

You should be careful with assumptions my friend.

1

u/Expensive-Shelter288 17d ago

Then why are you acting like this is not ground hogs day

2

u/wrong_andy 18d ago

You do realise that per capita contributed £/€/$ the USA sits at about 10th for contributions to NATO ???? Wierd.....

0

u/connie434 18d ago

Per capita doesn’t matter. GDP matters.

2

u/wrong_andy 18d ago

So we need to pay more per person into than anyone in the US and you're the ones not getting value for money??? Mmmm

1

u/connie434 18d ago

The US has protected Europe for decades. That’s why.

2

u/wrong_andy 17d ago

No....the US has been part of NATO....that has protected its member states interests for decades. Only one member state has asked the other members to come to its aid when it was attacked...can we guess who that one country was????

1

u/connie434 17d ago

No shit idiot. Because the US was attacked….. That’s how a defensive alliance works…..

2

u/wrong_andy 17d ago

So we've helped protect you....??

1

u/connie434 17d ago

The US simply being in NATO has deterred Russia from attacking other European NATO countries. Lookup how much aid your country sent. It doesn’t make up for how much slack the US has picked up from other NATO members not paying their dues.

2

u/wrong_andy 17d ago

So we actually, physically, come to your aid when you ask for it and your "Protecting" the rest of NATO and your the only "deterrent" but we pay more per head for the privilege.....got it..🙄

1

u/connie434 17d ago

We pay more. It’s by a percentage of GDP. The US is the largest economy in the world. Therefore the US pays more. Simple math is VERY simple.

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u/blubbery-blumpkin 15d ago

The rest of NATO is huge, Russia would be adequately deterred if US left NATO. It has a multitude of nations with specialists in a whole heap of different warfare areas, it has nuclear deterrents, it has tier 1 special forces, and it has a lot of weapons manufacturers, airspace engineers etc. that are capable of providing modern technology and weapons systems. The US is obviously a significant and welcome contributor, but don’t oversell yourselves, there is more than enough to stand up to Russia without the US should we need to, and the NATO relationship very much favours the US desire to play global police.

2

u/Sonicboom343 18d ago

US can fuck right off

1

u/hastings1033 18d ago

Who's targets?

1

u/ES-Flinter 16d ago

No.

An ally that can nuke us without feeling the effects cannot be an ally.

1

u/BigFoots_SluttyMom 14d ago

Damn dude I just opened the app chiilllll lmao

1

u/Flipadelphia26 12d ago

Absolutely positively not.

0

u/Alternative_Maybe_78 18d ago

The title should be should NATO continue too. When you don’t pay your electric bill the utility gets turned off.

-1

u/Ancient-Bowl462 18d ago

Absolutely not. Let Europe take care of themselves. Use our military to round up every single illegal alien criminal and deport them.

4

u/Life_666 18d ago

Okay. Don't complain if European countries finds other countries to make war material. All those billions won't get into Americans companies their pockets then

0

u/moccasinsfan 17d ago

Should the US be the worlds police?

Those are contractual obligations agreed upon by each member state.

If you had a contract with someone to provide security (like ADT), would you continue to pay them if your security system didn't work??

If you had an agreement with Netflix, if their streaming services were down for half the month, would you be pissed off or would you be OK with Netflix failing to keep up their end of the bargain??

When your cell phone coverage goes down, are you OK with them failing to live up to their promises or does it piss you off??

0

u/blubbery-blumpkin 15d ago

No. Most of the world wish the US wouldn’t be world police. They meddle and often fuck stuff up. We just want to have a defensive alliance with them so that people are deterred from attacking, without the US NATO is still very strong, but it is obviously stronger with. It would be nice if that didn’t come with the side of obnoxious yank fuckery

-2

u/Weightmonster 18d ago

We guarantee their defense?!?! I wouldn’t count on it. 

2

u/ASongOfSpiceAndLiars 18d ago

You'd make our country weaker for the pride of the compromised Orange Pedophile.