"Shaking things up a bit"! Now there's an understatement.
Yes, Europe was complacent, too comfortable with the status quo left over from WWII and the Cold War. The U.S. provided a strong military to keep Europe from re-arming soon after the World War. The Cold War was a nuclear standoff between two superpowers and wisely the U.S. decided …
"Shaking things up a bit"! Now there's an understatement.
Yes, Europe was complacent, too comfortable with the status quo left over from WWII and the Cold War. The U.S. provided a strong military to keep Europe from re-arming soon after the World War. The Cold War was a nuclear standoff between two superpowers and wisely the U.S. decided it best not to have a bunch of rogue nuclear forces muddying up the waters.
Europe was a collection of individual nations until 1993 when the formation of the EU occurred. The EU was primarily an economic union, not a strong federation responsible for collective defense. NATO is a pact among individual nations, not a cohesive EU defense force. European defenses are weak by U.S. design, not necessarily by the choice of European nations. As the world's largest weapons manufacturer, the U.S. has a profit motive to keep Europe dependent on U.S. armament.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was the wake-up call that destroyed Europe's fantasy of a post-Cold War Russia joining Europe in commerce and modernization. Putin's decision to invade makes no sense to Europe and is likely to trigger economic suicide for Russia (again). The myth of a new Russian Federation aligned with Western globalized commerce evaporated and the unthinkable became reality.
The Ukraine War has revealed that all parties - the U.S., EU, and Russia - had allowed their defense forces to atrophy. Ukraine has had to make do with used and obsolete Army Surplus equipment found in storage throughout the U.S. and various EU nations. Nobody anticipated such an insane event and even the U.S. cannot provide the munitions required for this type of conflict. Engaging in WWI trench warfare and artillery battles is unthinkable in the 21st century, but here we all are.
So, the U.S. lectures Europe to increase defense spending while it announces it will slash its defense budget. If Europeans are alarmed and confused by all of this, they have my sympathy. That Russia and China are emboldened is obvious. Yes, things have been "shaken up a bit."
"Shaking things up a bit"! Now there's an understatement.
Yes, Europe was complacent, too comfortable with the status quo left over from WWII and the Cold War. The U.S. provided a strong military to keep Europe from re-arming soon after the World War. The Cold War was a nuclear standoff between two superpowers and wisely the U.S. decided it best not to have a bunch of rogue nuclear forces muddying up the waters.
Europe was a collection of individual nations until 1993 when the formation of the EU occurred. The EU was primarily an economic union, not a strong federation responsible for collective defense. NATO is a pact among individual nations, not a cohesive EU defense force. European defenses are weak by U.S. design, not necessarily by the choice of European nations. As the world's largest weapons manufacturer, the U.S. has a profit motive to keep Europe dependent on U.S. armament.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was the wake-up call that destroyed Europe's fantasy of a post-Cold War Russia joining Europe in commerce and modernization. Putin's decision to invade makes no sense to Europe and is likely to trigger economic suicide for Russia (again). The myth of a new Russian Federation aligned with Western globalized commerce evaporated and the unthinkable became reality.
The Ukraine War has revealed that all parties - the U.S., EU, and Russia - had allowed their defense forces to atrophy. Ukraine has had to make do with used and obsolete Army Surplus equipment found in storage throughout the U.S. and various EU nations. Nobody anticipated such an insane event and even the U.S. cannot provide the munitions required for this type of conflict. Engaging in WWI trench warfare and artillery battles is unthinkable in the 21st century, but here we all are.
So, the U.S. lectures Europe to increase defense spending while it announces it will slash its defense budget. If Europeans are alarmed and confused by all of this, they have my sympathy. That Russia and China are emboldened is obvious. Yes, things have been "shaken up a bit."