May 31, 2017
It's Long Past Time for Our NATO Allies to Meet Their Defense-Spending Commitments
Chancellor Angela Merkel, campaigning at a Munich beer garden this Memorial Day weekend, certainly delighted American citizens as they paused to remember their sacred war dead, including the 236,000 men who died in Europe’s 20th-century wars. “The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days,” Merkel said. “We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.” Although Merkel meekly attempted to walk her initial statement back in the face of American complaints, she clearly intended it as a forceful response to the tongue-lashing the American president, Donald J. Trump, gave alliance members regarding their low levels of defense spending during their meeting at NATO’s new headquarters in Brussels last week. Such a statement by the German chancellor would normally be viewed with concern by members of the American foreign-policy and national-security establishments, who view the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a cornerstone of the post-war global order. But coming from Merkel, it was the height of arrogance.
Read more at National Review.
More from CNAS
-
European Outlooks on the Transatlantic Relationship, with Jana Puglierin
Podcast
Jana Puglierin joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss how Europeans are thinking about the United States and a future transatlantic relationship. Puglierin is...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Jana Puglierin
-
No, Trump has not been ‘tough’ on Russia
Commentary
The simple fact is that even harsh-looking sanctions have little impact when there’s zero political will to enforce them....
By Edward Fishman , James Lamond & Max Bergmann
-
Prospects for Democracy in Belarus, with Judy Dempsey and Jonathan Katz
Podcast
Judy Dempsey and Jonathan Katz join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the ongoing protests in Belarus and the country’s prospects for a democratic political tr...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Judy Dempsey & Jonathan Katz
-
Enlisting NATO to Address the China Challenge
Commentary
Moving forward, the DoD should enlist NATO in efforts to address the China challenge....
By Carisa Nietsche, Jim Townsend & Andrea Kendall-Taylor
