Russia and Ukraine

[Thumpalumpacus]

NATO spending is a guideline and other countries contribute far more then money which more then makes up for any short fall

In 2014, NATO allies in Europe and Canada invested $250bn, or about 1.43 percent of their collective GDP, to defence. That figure has risen steadily over the past decade and is expected to reach $430bn, or 2.02 percent, this year.

As a portion of GDP, Poland (4.1 percent), Estonia (3.4 percent), the US (3.4 percent), Latvia (3.2 percent) and Greece (3.1 percent) spend the most while Spain (1.3 percent), Slovenia (1.3 percent), Luxembourg (1.3 percent), Belgium (1.3 percent) and Canada (1.4 percent) spend the least.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/11...nd-in-2024

And to be frank, I doubt 2% will be sufficient for European security, given that the longtime underfunding of defense has left many NATO countries with outdated equipment and shrunken defense plant.

One thing that pisses me off about Trumps volte-face and his justifying it by pointing to American expenditures is that those expenditures are being spent here in America, funding good jobs and keeping factories open that we will most certainly need when the balloon goes up with China. Those funds are buying the Pentagon new and up-to-date equipment as we give Ukraine our older and somewhat outdated kit.