• OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca
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    1 day ago

    If they’re going to withdraw then why are they strong arming all the other nations to spending 5% GDP on defense? If they’re not in NATO, who gives a fuck what they want?

    • plyth@feddit.org
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      4 hours ago

      That’s the elephant in the room.

      For those who don’t know, Trump is threatening tariffs on Spain for not complying.

      To me it means that the threat of leaving Nato is a ruse to facilitate armament for a big war against China. Fewer people would support that.

      • zaphod@sopuli.xyz
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        1 day ago

        But that’s definitely (hopefully?) not going to happen if they pull out of NATO.

        • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world
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          24 hours ago

          Never underestimate the corruption and stupidity of European politicians. “Divide and conquer” works like a charm on most of our corrupt assholes. See the stupid opportunist fuck that the Germans elected chancellor. His (our :'( ) government is pushing for the use of the Palantir(!) software from fucking uber-Nazi-piece-of-shit Thiel in German administrations.

      • marcos@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        So, they wished the increased spending to the monkey paw and got exactly what they were wishing for: countries are cancelling orders of complex US equipment all over the world, and Europe is developing a military industry to compete with them.

        • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world
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          18 hours ago

          that is the less undesirable outcome, but still it is depressing how primitive and fucking dumb humans are to still be bashing each others skulls in in the year 2025.

          • marcos@lemmy.world
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            17 hours ago

            I don’t think the US military complex consider that “less undesirable” than basically any other possible outcome.

            … well, it may be better in their minds than an asteroid destroying Earth before they can cash-out. Maybe. I’m not sure about this one…

            • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world
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              16 hours ago

              I don’t think the US military complex consider that “less undesirable” than basically any other possible outcome.

              Either I disagree about the preferences of those murder-weapons-vendors, or you misunderstood my intentional double-negative, whose purpose it was to emphasize that it is absolutely not desirable that budgets have to be increased for mass-murder weapons.

              I am saying the military industrial complex over in the divided states of fuck all and everyone, would absolutely prefer if people bought from them, less so as a cash-out but preferably as a permanent source of income. A privatized murder-weapons industry in the billions is the best way of ensuring we will never get lasting peace on this planet.

          • drhodl@lemmy.world
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            14 hours ago

            Defending yourself is so dumb, hey? Go and whine to Pootin. Everyone else has to react to the bully, or go extinct. Pacifism has no place so long as there is ONE invader/bully left.

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      18 hours ago

      It was a talking point that Trump had in his first term. He tends not to let go of bad ideas once they get into his head.

      At the time, people didn’t take it seriously. With the Ukraine War, Europe feels like it has to now. But it’s going to be domestic production, not paying US MIC companies like Trump was thinking.

      • bier@feddit.nl
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        16 hours ago

        The 5% is probably too much, but its realistically 3.5% the othet 1.5% can be spend on infrastructure (like make bridges strong enough so tanks can drive over them), on cyber defense and other things that are not weapons.

        Also it’s about deterrence, when we spend enough Russia can’t attack unless they match the spending, this is part why the Soviet Union collapsed.

        • AES_Enjoyer@reddthat.com
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          14 hours ago

          The Soviet Union collapsing is what allowed the war in Ukraine. Do you see why rising military budgets in Europe doesn’t exactly promote peace?

          • bier@feddit.nl
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            7 hours ago

            This is like saying Germany losing WW2 is what allowed Israel to attack Iran.

            • AES_Enjoyer@reddthat.com
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              6 hours ago

              The antagonism between Ukrainians and Russians is a project the west has been pushing for a century. First it was Nazi Germany weaponizing a hunger episode that hurt Ukraine disproportionately more in order to create anti-russian sentiment (see Stepan Bandera), then it was Europe+US talking of Ukraine as a Russian colony during Soviet times.

              In the 1991 referendum, Ukraine voted to remain part of the Soviet Union which was illegally dismantled against the democratic will of the majority of the Soviet population. Despite this, the country was dissolved, the economy was auctioned to the most corrupt bidder, the industry was dismantled, and by 2022 Ukraine still hadn’t recovered the economic level it had before 1991. The dissolution of the Soviet Union literally caused a demographic crisis in Ukraine comparable to the ongoing war.

              Until 1991, the tensions between Ukraine and Russia were minor and the countries had a benign, sisterly relationship. It is the breaking of the eastern block that primarily triggers anti-russian nationalism in Ukraine and vice versa in Russia. It’s the broken promise of the west not to push NATO eastward that puts Russia on its toes, and it’s western-backed colour revolutions like the Euromaidan that proved Russia that Europe would always position itself against Russia, and not establishing friendly economic and diplomatic ties.

            • AES_Enjoyer@reddthat.com
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              13 hours ago

              Putin is famously the president of the Russian Republic, very different from the Soviet Union. I don’t know why you thinking me criticising what Russia has become somehow makes me Russian?

    • drhodl@lemmy.world
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      14 hours ago

      If you think Drumpf may be a Pootin asset, then it makes perfect sense. Spending more GDP on defense usually makes the incumbent party less popular, which may create opportunity for russia leaning candidates. Obviously, this would weaken NATO. NATO countries go along with Drumpf because they really still hold some hope that USA won’t leave the fold. They are still in the Denial stage of mourning. Anyway, events in Ukraine have shown that more GDP spending on military is pretty much essential for any country within range of ruzzia.