NATO leader says Europe needs to build up their military because of Trump

In another positive for US citizens, the NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte of the Netherlands has said that Europe needs to spend the required amount, especially as Donald Trump has been reelected. It would seem that because Biden was elected, they decided they could go back to their old ways and rely completely on the US. This means that people in Europe will feel the burden, lightly, in their own protection again. People in the US should be aware of this, as it is their tax dollars that Europeans see as what they should rely on.

This comes after they started fearing Russia when the nation invaded Ukraine after NATO broke their promises by offering membership to the former Soviet state. Now, there are more concerns after Putin has started talking about using nukes, which means there would be even less time for a more concentrated US effort to support underfunded European troops. The American military covering their failings so they can have socialist style governments seems to need to end.

Current Plans

Here, via the AP, is what is known about the plan to defend NATO from Russia that were made mid-2024.

https://apnews.com/article/nato-russia-ukraine-terrorism-defense-plans-ed687526a98dace90b8717ac326bd9ce

U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts on Tuesday endorsed the biggest shakeup since the Cold War of the way the military alliance would respond to any attack on its territory by Russia.

Inspired in part by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the highly-secretive defense plans lay out which of the 31 member countries would be called on to respond an attack anywhere from the Arctic and Baltic Sea regions through the northern Atlantic and south to the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

“Peace in the Euro-Atlantic area has been shattered,” the leaders said in a statement, laying out the twin threats posed by Russia and terrorism. “Together, this family of plans will significantly improve our ability and readiness to deter and defend against any threats, including on short or no notice, and ensure timely reinforcement of all Allies.”

The leaders, meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, “committed to fully resource and regularly exercise these plans to be prepared for high-intensity and multi-domain collective defense.”

Under the new plans, NATO commanders will know more clearly what troops and equipment they would have at their disposal and how long it would take to have them in place, officials said.

Under its new plans, NATO aims to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days. The plans divide its territory into three zones – the high north and Atlantic area, a zone north of the Alps, and another in southern Europe.

The planning was based on the strength of the Russian army before President Vladimir Putin launched the war on Ukraine almost 17 months ago. The war has depleted Russia’s army, but not its navy or air force, top NATO brass say.

NATO’s 31 member countries took part in a “force generation conference” in late June in an effort to understand how many troops and how much equipment the alliance might have at its disposal to respond to any Russian attack, both in the short and longer term.

Senior officers were upbeat about the results, although they declined to provide details for security reasons. Experts and some NATO diplomats, however, have expressed doubt about the willingness of member countries to put a total of 300,000 troops on standby.

One part of the process that has not been streamlined is the need for all 31 allies to approve launching the new plans in case of attack, and at certain points once they’re put into action. Such political decisions, which require consensus, can be time-consuming.

Current Thoughts

Here, via Military.com, is what NATO is saying now that Trump has been elected.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/12/04/nato-chief-urges-european-allies-ramp-defense-spending-trump-returns-white-house.html?ESRC=eb_241205.nl&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb&utm_campaign=20241205

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte led a fresh push Wednesday for European countries to ramp up defense spending, a budget shortfall that President-elect Donald Trump used to berate U.S. allies during his first term in office, severely damaging trust.

After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula a decade ago, NATO leaders agreed to halt the defense cuts that began when the Cold War ended and move toward spending 2% of GDP on their military budgets.

Since Russia launched its full-fledged invasion almost three years ago, the leaders have agreed that the 2% target should be the floor rather than the ceiling for defense spending. On average, U.S. allies combined meet that figure, but around a third of the members still do not individually.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, threatened not to defend “delinquent” countries. NATO is founded on the principle that an attack on any member must be considered an attack on them all. Trump’s remarks undermined confidence that the U.S. could be counted on in a crisis.

“If you want to keep the deterrence at the present level, 2% is not enough,” Rutte told reporters after chairing a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. “We can now defend ourselves and nobody should try to attack us. But I want that to stay the same in 4 or 5 years.”

Well, it seems that their citizens will have to finally be concerned with their own defense.

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