{"id":83023,"date":"2023-06-22T04:00:28","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T08:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=83023"},"modified":"2023-06-21T17:16:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T21:16:33","slug":"cdr-salamanders-proposal-to-encourage-nato-countries-to-meet-or-exceed-their-agreed-defence-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2023\/06\/22\/cdr-salamanders-proposal-to-encourage-nato-countries-to-meet-or-exceed-their-agreed-defence-targets\/","title":{"rendered":"CDR Salamander’s proposal to “encourage” NATO countries to meet or exceed their agreed defence targets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Canada has been a notorious defence freeloader since the first Trudeau government took office in 1968. Every Canadian government since then — until the current government started telling our allies we had no intention of meeting our treaty commitments<\/a> — has made more-or-less sincere noises about getting back to the 2% of GDP minimum defence budget and none have done much to make it happen (we’re around 1.39% at the moment). Several years ago, CDR Salamander<\/a> proposed a new way to allocate NATO leadership roles according to how close to the minimum each member country has managed to get, and it’s surprising that something of the sort hasn’t already been implemented:<\/p>\n

It should bring to the front that NATO can no longer allow unserious nations to play like they are anything but security free-riders. They need to contribute their fair share or pay some consequence. Alliances have benefits and responsibilities. You should not have one without the other.<\/p>\n

While percentage of GDP is an imperfect measure of contribution, it is better than all the other ones. It is as simple benchmark of national effort.<\/p>\n

As these are the best numbers we have, let’s look at 2021 and then forward.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is amazing that after all Russia has shown Western Europe — both of its nature and the nature of modern warfare — that so many of our NATO allies continue to slow walk defense spending, doing the very minimum to be a full and fair partner in the alliance.<\/p>\n

Russian victory — however they define it — or Russian defeat — however Ukraine defines it – will not change the geography or nature of Russia. She is not going anywhere.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

There is so much deferred spending from our free-riding European allies. <\/p>\n