Analysis: Ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, More is at Stake Than the Defense Budget
A year ago, NATO agreed that member states would increase defense spending to five percent of GDP by 2035. But when the alliance's leaders gather for a summit in Ankara next week, much more than the economy will be at stake. This is what several experts write in an analysis by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
"Russia's continued war in Ukraine, the consequences of the US and Israel's war on Iran, and Donald Trump's threat to annex Greenland have once again raised questions about Washington's commitment to the alliance," they write.
Above all, US frustration over the fact that allies did not participate in the war against Iran has worsened the mood ahead of the summit, writes Liana Fix at the think tank Council on Foreign Relations.
"The Pentagon has used this dissatisfaction to push through plans for a further reduction in US forces and military resources tied to NATO," writes Fix.
She points out, among other things, that the US has already announced that 5,000 soldiers will be withdrawn from Germany, and that a deployment of long-range weapons systems has been canceled. Europe therefore needs to speed up its own defense planning with less American support.
“This means, among other things, acquiring the military capabilities required for a ‘European way of waging war’ – designed to deter Russia rather than imitate the US.”
Rutte: Europe’s rearmament secures 195,000 jobs in the US
European military rearmament secures around 195,000 jobs in the US. This is what NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview with the Financial Times.
According to Rutte, there are 300 billion dollars, around 3,000 billion kronor, in European orders for American weapons systems, which helps to maintain employment.
At the same time, US officials have warned of delivery delays after the war in Iran, which has reduced the US's own weapons stockpile. This has led several NATO countries to turn outside the alliance to buy weapons, including from South Korea.
– I appreciate South Korea and the country has a fantastic defense industry. But of course they do it because they actually prefer to buy from NATO countries. The problem is that the defense industry cannot deliver on the scale needed, says Rutte.
