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Thread: NATO: debating and defending Europe

  1. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    That is little more than wishful thinking. The EU regularly tries to extend its role in security matters, even a common army etc. Nowt is said about the declining spending by most European NATO members.
    What is interesting is that the new members of NATO ie Poland and the Baltics have more than doubled their defense spending inside one year....Bulgaria by 30% and Romania by almost 43%.....followed by Czech republic at 14%....and new troop levels...

    It has been the older NATO members ie the Dutch....Germans....Brits and Danes that have largely reduced both their budgets and actual military forces.

    We even see Finland, Norway and Sweden beefing up both military numbers and funding....BUT one gets the feeling that with Brexit the UK is virtually out of the defense business for a number of coming years.

  2. #42
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    EUobserver

    @euobs
    #Brexit and the election in the #US have set a new course for #EU on the issue of #military integration.
    https://euobserver.com/foreign/135877

  3. #43
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    Default A Top NATO General Echoes Trump, Calling Aspects Of Alliance ‘Obsolete’

    A Top NATO General Echoes Trump, Calling Aspects Of Alliance ‘Obsolete’

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  4. #44
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    Default Shaken by Trump’s Criticism of NATO, Europe Mulls Building Own Military Force

    Shaken by Trump’s Criticism of NATO, Europe Mulls Building Own Military Force

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  5. #45
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    Default Defense Secretary Mattis Tells NATO Allies to Spend More, or Else

    Defense Secretary Mattis Tells NATO Allies to Spend More, or Else

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  6. #46
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    Default Mike Pence Says U.S. Backs NATO But Urges Europe To Boost Military Spending

    Mike Pence Says U.S. Backs NATO But Urges Europe To Boost Military Spending

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  7. #47
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    Default NATO Chief Says Alliance Could Increase Troops In Afghanistan In Face Of Intensifying

    NATO Chief Says Alliance Could Increase Troops In Afghanistan In Face Of Intensifying Insurgency / Latest SIGAR Report

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  8. #48
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    Default Three 'Black Holes' Facing NATO: Strategy, Russia, Weapons

    Three 'Black Holes' Facing NATO: Strategy, Russia, Weapons

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  9. #49
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    Default NATO Chiefs Discuss Afghan Manning Ahead of Heads of State Meeting

    NATO Chiefs Discuss Afghan Manning Ahead of Heads of State Meeting

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  10. #50
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    Default Key Issues Facing the NATO Alliance

    Key Issues Facing the NATO Alliance

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  11. #51
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    Default President: NATO Member Nations Must Increase Defense Spending

    President: NATO Member Nations Must Increase Defense Spending

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  12. #52
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    Default In Warsaw Speech, Trump Vows To Fight Terrorism, Back NATO Allies

    In Warsaw Speech, Trump Vows To Fight Terrorism, Back NATO Allies

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  13. #53
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    Default Estonia: A NATO Ally in Peril

    Estonia: A NATO Ally in Peril

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  14. #54
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    Default An alarm bell

    Hat tip to Politico for this article, which starts with:
    The U.S. Army’s rapid reaction force in Europe is underequipped, undermanned and inadequately organized to confront military aggression from Russia or its high-tech proxies, according to an internal study that some who have read it view as a wake-up call as the Trump administration seeks to deter an emboldened Vladimir Putin. The Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade, a bulwark of the NATO alliance that has spent much of the past decade and a half rotating in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan, lacks “essential capabilities needed to accomplish its mission effectively and with decisive speed,” according to the analysis by the brigade, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO.
    Link:http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...-russia-242273

    It does rather stand in contrast to a SWJ article on a multinational NATO formation:http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art...17-an-analysis
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 09-08-2017 at 09:00 PM. Reason: 64,092v
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  15. #55
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    Default Facing Russian Threat, NATO Boosts Operations for the First Time Since the Cold War

    Facing Russian Threat, NATO Boosts Operations for the First Time Since the Cold War

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  16. #56
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    The EU signed a “historic” deal to integrate 23 armies to shake off its US dependence

    It took 70 years, but the European Union finally signed a pact today (Nov. 13) agreeing to integrate military funding, weapons development, and deployment of European defenses. In a way, creating a unified mega army.
    US president’s Donald Trump’s frequent accusations that EU countries do not pay enough into NATO has been one catalyst for them move forward with a unified plan for military cooperation. The other is that it could legitimately diminish the bloc’s dependence on US military support.
    EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, called the pact “historic” as “the real problem is not how much we spend, it is the fact we spend in a fragmented manner.” She also said it would strengthen the work of the US-led NATO.
    https://qz.com/1127984/eu-army-bloc-...us-dependence/

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  17. #57
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    Default Historic - yes, heard that before

    I have seen repeated efforts in Europe to collaborate on defence projects, ostensibly to reduce costs and build capability - very few achieve that. The EU likes to make grand announcements, time will tell if this one leads to anything concrete or steel.

    The project is catchily titled ‘PESCO’ - or “permanent structured co-operation; which is intended to give the EU a new method of improving their defence capabilities. One easy step would be to remove, if not reduce, the bureaucracy associated with troop movements within NATO; which is often claimed to inhibit mobilization.

    There remain profound differences on security policy, not least whether NATO remains the primary method for having security. Let alone the capacity of several nations to commit money.

    Hopefully this wider commentary on Europe in the FT helps:https://www.ft.com/content/ec5983aa-...3-c63fdc9b8c6c

    In the UK for many it will confirm the deeply held suspicion that the EU wants to become a federal state or a "super state". Which was dismissed as ever being likely.
    davidbfpo

  18. #58
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    Default Moderator at work

    Prompted by a blog article by a US Army officer on the future of NATO and the forthcoming EU cooperation, I have amended this thread's title to accommodate wider matters.

    The new title is 'NATO: debating and defending Europe'.

    A number of smaller threads, mainly from SWJ Blog have been merged in.
    davidbfpo

  19. #59
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    Default An American perspective on Pesco: The dangers of de-linking EU defence from NATO

    A blog article by a US military officer, which has been published by Policy Exchange (a UK neo-con think tank and very pro-US normally). Given their position it might actually resonate inside government.

    Here is a "taster":
    EU defense initiatives must avoid #de-linking the EU from the US and NATO, avoid duplicating existing efforts, and not discriminate against non-EU members. Pesco fails at least two of these tests. The EU itself has announced Pesco will be discriminatory, and it will further see the de-linking of American and European defense.
    Link:https://policyexchange.org.uk/an-ame...nce-from-nato/
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-08-2018 at 07:44 PM. Reason: 80,215v
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  20. #60
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    GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — It has sounded like a nonstop thunderstorm at this base for the past two weeks, during which the Army has conducted the largest artillery exercise in Europe since the Cold War.
    More than 3,700 soldiers from 26 nations are participating in Dynamic Front 18 — the Army’s premier multinational artillery drill on the Continent — almost three times as many participants as last year. The exercise, which began Feb. 23, wraps up on Saturday.
    https://www.stripes.com/news/us-alli...d-war-1.515391
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