The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in 1949. It was created to balance against the Soviet Union, which, at the time, was able to grow in its size and influence after coming out victorious in the wake of World War II.
The initial justification for the establishment of NATO was based on defending Western Europe from potential Soviet aggression. However, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, NATO’s Raison d’être ceased to exist.
Russia, the successor state to the Soviet Union, is much smaller and does not pose much of a threat to the European balance of powers. While Russia appears to be winning in its war against Ukraine, it has not been a walk in the park, thereby making it less likely that Russia will expand its operations into continental Europe.
Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie has picked up on this.
In a tweet he posted on March 24, 2022, Massie noted:
“✅USSR collapsed
✅EU formed
✅Putin was unable to roll over Ukraine
✅Americans are done subsidizing socialism.”
NATO is obsolete.
✅USSR collapsed
✅EU formed
✅Putin was unable to roll over Ukraine
✅Americans are done subsidizing socialism
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 24, 2022
Although Russia will likely win this war, its progress in the conflict is in no way indicative of a Blitzkrieg like scenario where it will quickly swallow up countries like Poland and Baltic states. Russia could end up partitioning Ukraine and possibly annexing parts of it, but it will likely stop there.
Europe is a rich continent. It’s time that the EU started paying for its defense. The US has roughly over 60,000 troops parked throughout Europe. For example, Germany (35,468), Italy (12,436), and the United Kingdom (9,576) have a significant number of American troops deployed
In a competently run polity, these troops would be brought back home and largely stationed at our border.
The good news is that the Russo-Ukrainian War’s most violent phase has woken up countries like Germany, which has recently boosted its defense spending to meet the 2% of GDP NATO requirement.
More countries should follow in Germany’s footsteps and start assuming more of their defense functions. The US cannot afford to be world policeman any longer. Other countries will need to start behaving like sovereign entities and handling defense matters on their own.
