Trump Concentrates Europe’s Minds on Defense Spending

President Trump has long insisted that our European allies need to pay more for their own defense, most recently by allocating fully five percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Therefore, the Europeans have spent with impunity on “butter” while letting us largely pay for the “guns.” Most balked at honoring even their NATO commitment to spend two percent.

Mr. Trump’s unilateral negotiations with Russia on ending the Ukraine war, however, are concentrating the Europeans’ minds. They fear Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions will not be satisfied by a deal legitimating his seizure of much of Ukraine and that America’s announced re-focus on the growing Chinese threat risks a security vacuum on the continent.

TBD is whether the allies will opt for appeasing Russia or take more responsibility for their own security – sensibly inside NATO or via a duplicative and inevitably inadequate European military structure.

This is Frank Gaffney.