that's not an entirely unreasonable statement, but the assumption it's based on is rather flawed. it's not the lack of money in general (refer to the graphic in my previous post), but how it's spent, what kind of roles are expected from us to be fulfilled worldwide. that would significantly shift with a more regional, eurocentric focus. just to be clear, i would not at all be opposed to increasing our military budget somewhat to equip it properly - but not to 'secure' us against imaginary threats, against scares created by the military industrial complex to keep feeding and expanding for its own sake, or against threats that warmongering empires created in their lust for oil and war.

again, my main point in regards to military spending is that a mandatory minimum, regardless of actual threats and requirements, is simply a disgusting concept - we should learn from history, not repeat it just because our leaders are funded by those who have a massive financial incentive to do so.

regarding the lack of combat experience, thank fuck. the last thing we need is more proxy wars to train our troops, test our toys, and ofc 'secure the oil', while destroying whole countries that will then learn to hate and despise us.

This post was edited by fender on Nov 7 2019 04:15pm

I think that was more of a paraphrase, than a misrepresent.

The reality is... that currently the EU couldn't defend itself if it needed to. Why then is the EU not overrun. Because the US likes the EU and protects it.



/e Unfortunately, probably due to the easy communications afforded the world, by the internet, the 350 million American people, want some of that free healthcare and free education. In order to provide that, the US needs to stop protecting everyone else, and take care of their own.

This post was edited by Ghot on Nov 7 2019 04:18pm

propaganda victim.

It's notjust because the US likes the EU. There are significant strategic interests of the US in the EU that need to be maintained. The US military bases in the EU provide for easy power projection into the Middle East. There is more to gain than just staying friends with EU and keeping Russia at bay. The US is not going to pull out those military bases, even if the EU was spending 4% on military.

And it is misrepresenting the thread, as the first post contains Macron detailing how the EU needs to start developing itself as a sovereign military power.

This post was edited by balrog66 on Nov 7 2019 04:20pm

If you were honest, that's precisely the attitude of many EU states. Fuck being the 'guarantor' and fuck Macron for framing it that way. What do i get out of it? What does the average guy living anywhere in the US get out of sending his tax money to build bases in Romania or Czech Republic?

Your country spending it's tax dollars on nice parks, subsidized healthcare, etc. while my country spends on building bases for EU defensive purposes and neocon fantasies which do nothing for me. It's time to end this cuck norm.

This post was edited by ofthevoid on Nov 7 2019 04:25pm

In the WW II days, I would necessarily have to agree. But in the modern era, we really don't need military bases in Europe anymore.
We definitely don't WANT Europe to be overrun, because that would make Russia a much more serious threat. But we have the military capability to fight remotely, or near field (like with aircraft carriers). The US can move our Armies where we need them, very rapidly these days.

Do you feel the same way about the non-European US military bases? Are you similarly saddened that other regional allies like Australia and Japan don't reach 2% either?

Why or why not?

We have an agreement with Japan that they keep their military to a dull roar, because last time they had one, they blew up our Navy.
As for Australia, we can protect them for the price of keeping an eye on China... who at this point in time should be everyone's major concern. They ARE imperialistic.

As for the middle east, we already watch them, and have Israel who's just dying to wipe them out, on our side.

When was the last time Germany upped their military strength again, remind me please.

As far as I know, they haven't. Again, that was per agreement.

/e But that was an agreement backed by the threat of US involvement.

This post was edited by Ghot on Nov 7 2019 04:39pm