However, repeated warnings that, in the event of Ukraine’s defeat, Russia would replenish its ground forces and be ready to attack NATO have resulted only in procrastination and indecisive action. And in addition to the countries on NATO’s eastern flank, European political leaders continue to behave as if little has changed, because their rhetoric has not yet been followed by commensurate actions.
Promises of future spending are not the same as actual contracts that would incentivize European defense contractors to increase production at high speed and scale. And without European rearmament, NATO is simply setting itself up for failure.
U.S. and allied military leaders – both at U.S. European Command and at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe – have worked tirelessly to return NATO to its original role of collective deterrence and defense. The alliance now has regional plans, with requirements for force generation capabilities that will restore this primary function. But if Europe does not spend money to develop its defense industrial base and provide real military capabilities to make these new regional plans credible, their implementation will carry many unacceptable risks.
And yet, judging by the uneven response from several European capitals regarding defense spending, allies appear locked in a culture of grand rhetoric while counting on the United States to shoulder the lion’s share of the burden. Today, only 18 of NATO’s 32 members are spending – or have promised to spend – the promised 2% of their GDP on defense. To put this into perspective, during the Cold War, European countries spent an average of 3-5% of their GDP on defense.
But the allies signed these new plans at the last NATO summit in Vilnius – meaning that the capability commitments attached to these plans constitute a binding commitment. Yet just three months before NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington this summer, the alliance continues to struggle with shortcomings in integrated air and missile defense, deep precision strikes, command and control. control and logistics.
What’s more, there is little realization that NATO can fail in a crisis simply because it continues to fail to rebuild itself into a war alliance.
Politices
