| You’re assuming that I or most Americans agree that the war in Afghanistan was worthwhile. Probably true at first, certainly not true after the initial objective of getting Osama bin Laden was achieved. In any case, no NATO country has been attacked or invoked Article 5, so your observation is irrelevant. Ukraine cannot invoke it because they aren’t a member of NATO. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia etc. haven’t invoked it because they haven’t been attacked or invaded, nor do I expect them to be. In my view NATO should not have been expanded once the Cold War ended. The US should have reduced its financial commitments to the alliance when it became clear that rich countries like France and Germany were acting as free riders. These countries reap the benefits of American military spending while contributing less than their fair share, and criticizing America at the same time for the size of its military: https://money.cnn.com/2016/07/08/news/nato-summit-spending-c... >To make the principle work, all countries are expected to chip in. NATO's official guidelines say member states should spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.
Of the 28 countries in the alliance, only five -- the U.S., Greece, Poland, Estonia and the U.K. -- meet the target. >The rest lag behind. Germany spent 1.19% of its GDP on defense last year, France forked out 1.78%. >According to NATO statistics, the U.S. spent an estimated $650 billion on defense last year. That's more than double the amount all the other 27 NATO countries spent between them, even though their combined GDP tops that of the U.S. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Securit...
Now, when it's time to honor that pledge, the US and the UK should do so. And I think they are and that they will, to some extent.
I strongly doubt the US really wants Germany, France and other NATO members to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense (in which case they would have combined military spending close to rivalling the US' 3.3 percent of GDP because their combined GDP is higher and because Canadian/Turkish/European public spending traditionally goes further). The US has a clear interest in having a military far superior to the next many powers combined. The US might like Europeans to spend a little more, but not anywhere close to 2 percent.