President Trump is also showing his one-track-minded perception of many things in his campaign around defense spending. His amazing speech at the NATO summit was no exception. He seems to think that the more money you spend on defense hardware, the better it is. More missiles, more jet fighters, more frigates, more tanks - the more peaceful the world will be. And those NATO countries, which pay less than 2 % of the GNP for defense, are to be blamed.
This is one point of view. I believe that we Europeans have - as in many other cases - a more sophisticated and realistic view on how things are.
First of all, the US has decided to be pro-actively present in most parts of the world with their defense forces. I am not saying that this is wrong. I am saying that this costs money. Therefore, it is not reasonable to compare US costs with those of most other countries.
Secondly, there is much more to an efficient defense than military hardware. Solid trade agreements with other countries are part of defense. Development aid can be seen also as part of it. Humanitarian assistance too. Education of people in and from potentially dangerous countries is also a defense investment. And last , but not least all the efforts all our countries are doing these days to fight external (such as Russian) electronic interference into our societies are definitely also an increasing part of our smart defense efforts and costs.
So, Mr. Trump - also in this area I believe you have more important home work to do!
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