NATO countries have agreed a statement ahead of their upcoming summit that sets a target of increasing annual defence and security spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, overcoming opposition from Spain.
The US is at about 3%, which is an insane amount a lot of which gets allocated to random domestic pork-barrel projects, or basic scientific research which is just getting funneled through the “defense” department for basically no reason. Upping it to more than the US spends per capita on its military is bonkers.
That being said, I get it. These are bonkers times. Russia is doing for-real military invasions and bombing whole cities and shows no signs of wanting to stop, and the US is no longer a reliable partner for defense and deterrence. It might be fine, but it might not. It’s time to get ready to look after our own safety again, after a long period of not really having to worry as long as you were white and Western. I get why they’re doing it.
The UK in 1985 was being run by people who grew up getting their cities bombed out and not having enough to eat because of the war, or having friends and family members dead because they were in the infantry and didn’t come back.
I posted a chart elsewhere in these comments; all during the modern era it’s been hovering around 1.5%, and then suddenly in the last few years people are invested in paying more, what with the US and Russia collaborating to make them nervous about their safety again.
5% is, in fact, a whole shitload.
The US is at about 3%, which is an insane amount a lot of which gets allocated to random domestic pork-barrel projects, or basic scientific research which is just getting funneled through the “defense” department for basically no reason. Upping it to more than the US spends per capita on its military is bonkers.
That being said, I get it. These are bonkers times. Russia is doing for-real military invasions and bombing whole cities and shows no signs of wanting to stop, and the US is no longer a reliable partner for defense and deterrence. It might be fine, but it might not. It’s time to get ready to look after our own safety again, after a long period of not really having to worry as long as you were white and Western. I get why they’re doing it.
5% is about what the UK spent up to 1985. It was 7% in 1960.
France spent 3% in 85, and 5% in the 60s, but they count “defence spending” differently.
The UK in 1985 was being run by people who grew up getting their cities bombed out and not having enough to eat because of the war, or having friends and family members dead because they were in the infantry and didn’t come back.
I posted a chart elsewhere in these comments; all during the modern era it’s been hovering around 1.5%, and then suddenly in the last few years people are invested in paying more, what with the US and Russia collaborating to make them nervous about their safety again.