Europe is used to America paying for NATO

James Holmes, an analyst at the US Naval War College, wrote in an article for the National Interest magazine: “The huge US contribution to NATO’s military spending during the Cold War created a historical habit for European countries to rely on Washington.”

This expert wrote in his article: During the Cold War, the Americans performed most of the military tasks necessary to fight communism. The generosity of the United States has made Europe save a lot on defense.

According to Holmes, the current problems are related to the rearmament of European countries with a deep-rooted tradition of relying on Washington’s military resources rather than their own capabilities. According to this expert, cultural differences between Americans and Europeans also play an important role. They were from different worlds, which made them more cautious and a little more concerned about their safety.

This expert concluded: NATO allies were from completely different worlds, which were built on completely different assumptions. But with the passage of time and the change of American political positions, Washington’s godfather position in NATO will also change. An example of that is Trump’s line and emblem for other NATO allies.

Previously, Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of NATO and threatened that the United States will withdraw from the alliance if the European partners do not have more financial responsibility for their security. NATO members are required to allocate two percent of their gross domestic product to NATO expenses, while some members escape from it.

So, in February, Trump said at a rally in South Carolina that during his presidency, the head of a major country, who preferred to remain anonymous, asked him if the United States would attack Europe if Russia attacked. It protects the coalition, which Trump replied that he will not do because the rest of the coalition does not allocate enough funds for defense.

Translator: Azam Purkand