Thread: Europe Needs To Wake Up. Fast

The video makes a number of false assumptions. Yes a collective European response would be better to intimidate or even defeat Russia.
The threat to Europe has existed for over 70 years and not 20 as the video suggests. Russia may well be demonstrating its conventional weakness, but the video fails to mention the ultimate response Russia represents with the nuclear threat!

Interessting that the nations closer to Russia, and predominantly ex Warsaw pact nations are the ones spending big on conventional defence. Defense is one area where Russia benefits due to a total lack of European cohesion and agreements on posture for defence.

The French have excellent front line forces and defence capabilities, but almost no lift capability to get them where they might be needed. The Germans continue to cling to historical and ideological reasons for avoiding a more aggressive approach, but still retain build capabilities.

NATO, with the US, remains capable of knitting the disparate disfuntions together and presenting Russia with formidable opposition.
Even without US leadership, NATO can still carry the joint nuclear threat, which will keep Russia in check.

Europe does not want to be led by France, Germany or the UK, in defending Euro interests collectively. Much better to have a US led NATO to do that job. They have proved useful, up to a point, in Sabre rattling, but do they have the guts and the gumption to eradicate the Russian threat, diminishing as that threat is?

If the US can be persuaded to put Putin back in his box conventionally, they can then concentrate their efforts in the Pacific, where they see the real threat to world peace.

The only thing this video got right is the very shallow budget available to build the required cohesion.