Raising NATO defense spending requirements from 2% to 5% of GDP would have been a non-starter in President Trump’s first term. Just getting most of the European NATO members to raise their defense spending to the 2% target met fierce resistance. But the underlying logic of these targets makes no sense to me.

Allowing another country to pay 2% — or even 5% — of their GDP for defense & then expect America to bear the lion’s share of the financial & material burden when a war emergency does strike is akin to a homeowner paying 2-5% for a home insurance premium & then expecting the insurance company to pay full replacement value when the house is damaged or destroyed. That’s not how mutual defense should work, but we get what we allow.

Why should America write a defense insurance policy for Europe which allows them to do the bare minimum &, as a result, channel their spending into ever-increasing socialism, ever-expanding bureaucratic power, & ever-more callous encroachment on the natural rights of supposedly free citizens?

Without US subsidies… & unbalanced trade… & foreign aid… & financial backstops… Europe would be faced with real world constraints & would have to decide between individualism (which encourages creativity, unleashes the economy, & builds prosperity for future generations) & collectivism (which punishes nonconformity, stifles the economy, & consumes the wealth built by prior generations). 

If the nations of Europe actually had to live with the consequences of these decisions, they might become worthy & useful allies once again instead of a collectivist protectorate which detracts more than it adds to the causes of human liberty & American security & prosperity.

IMO, I do not believe America should allow ourselves to be drawn into large commitments in foreign wars or maintain a global military presence— particularly not while we lack the capacity & focus to defend ourselves at home. We do more for the cause of mankind by keeping ourselves free, strong, innovative, & frontier oriented on our home hemisphere & by projecting power by our example, technology, networks, &, after we rebuild our supply chains & manufacturing base, our production.

All that said, if America is going to remain in multilateral alliances which demand our involvement in foreign wars — we should only step in when our allies are doing everything they can for their own defense. 5% may suffice in “peacetime”, but that number may need to reach 20%, 30%, or even 40% in the event of a major war. 

In other words, the USA can no longer afford to provide a free lunch to any foreign regime, especially not to collectivists who would destroy the supposedly common commitment to freedom which is presumed to unite our nations.

If free societies are to stand arm in arm in defense of our common civilization, then each must first defend freedom at home, keep their economies strong, commit to be their own first line of defense, & only ask for help when it is actually needed.