Thats typical Russian paranoia. NATO combined (minus the US) couldn’t begin to contemplate mounting a ground offensive in Europe. China, otoh, would be my main concern if I were them. But preparing for last wars is a thing.

Yes. Fabricated. But the Russian people have a deep-rooted paranoia about foriegn incursions into the motherland (for good historical reasons) and the current regime can play that up to hilt.

Yes. IMO RU should be looking to the south, not the west, for trouble in the long run.

But short-term, they both have a strong mutual interest in "sovereignty" (ie they can do what they want, to who they want without external interference) and opposition to the liberal west. They're natural enemies with temporary common interests.

What part of % of GDP did you not get?



Perhaps you should actually LOOK AT the chart before criticizing it?

This was the constant refrain at SHAPE from the AOs and the MILDEL in Brussels. They were happy to exercise, but they never had the expectation that they would really do anything. That would fall squarely on the shoulders of the US.

The chart is very clear, the % numbers are right there.

Poor people obviously don't pay their fare share... they use at least the same or typically more public resources but pay less.

A small NATO state costs less to defend than a geographically larger one, in general and hypothetically. That's as fair as you can make it. Lots of variables there since you don't know where the attack will come from or how it will progress. Also the defense of the more western states is predicated on holding the line in the eastern states. You could fight and win a lengthy conflict in a couple of eastern states but that doesn't mean those states should foot the entire bill.

Honestly, I don’t remember.

But the JCS as well as the US/NATO commander had made recs to the admin regarding Afghanistan, they were either not even heard and/or dismissed.

Those items had been “working” up to that point as far as keeping the place somewhat calm, relatively.

So how did all of this become OUR responsibility?

That’s a bold strategy cotton, let’s see how it works out for him.

Well, before the Iron Curtain fell, we had MAP (mutually assured paranoia) where both sides worried about the other invading.

Question: how long do you think it takes to build enough military equipment to mount a ground offensive?
Let's go into paranoid gaming mode for this. Let's say all VW, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Opel, and Smart car factories in Germany were converted to produce military vehicles. How many armored infantry vehicles could they crank out every month? How many months before an aggressive Germany, wanting to secure natural gas supplies, be capable of mounting a ground offensive?
I would be surprised if the Russian military hasn't done tabletop exercises along similar lines.
This may seem farfetched but Europe has an energy deficit problem. Russia has energy.
Paranoid? Perhaps. But suggesting that Germany would become a superpower after WWI was also paranoid, especially with the huge reparations levied on them from the Treaty of Versailles.

You may disagree with Russia's desire to have a large land buffer to protect them from European aggression but I wouldn't dismiss it.

Those that cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
-George Santayana