FRED KAPLAN: US - Europe military-industrial complexes in conflict

By Dilip -
America’s European allies are finally spending more on defense, but the Trump administration is raising hell about it because some of the allies want to spend the money on weapons made in their own countries. The irony is immense. Throughout his presidency, and even before, Trump has been browbeating the NATO allies to boost their defense budgets, even threatening to leave the alliance if they didn’t pony up. Now that they’re doing so in a politically viable way—by investing in their own companies—top U.S. officials are complaining.


It would be funny if it weren’t so damaging. The whole episode bolsters suspicions that the United States is interested more in enriching its own military-industrial complex than in improving the common defense. As a result, trans-Atlantic tensions, which Trump has done much to brew, will likely thicken. The case for higher European defense budgets will lose legitimacy if it comes to be seen as a mere appendage to Trump’s “America First” campaign... read more:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/europe-military-industrial-complex-nato-trump.html

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