Alienated by Trump, Europeans Finally Take Responsibility for Defense

In December 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.K.—which is relatively well-armed for Europe—"has only around 150 deployable tanks and perhaps a dozen serviceable long-range artillery pieces" while "France, the next biggest spender, has fewer than 90 heavy artillery pieces, equivalent to what Russia loses roughly every month on the Ukraine battlefield." In 2019, according to the NATO Secretary General's Annual Report, the U.S. share of the NATO alliance's collective GDP was 52 percent, but it made 70 percent of all NATO defense expenditures. Their efforts would be even more effective if they accepted as much responsibility for creating the freedom that lets innovation and prosperity thrive and build the economic resources they need to be truly capable of self-defense.

Author: J.D. Tuccille

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