• OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca
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    11 hours 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?

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      4 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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        2 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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          15 minutes 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?

      • marcos@lemmy.world
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        6 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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          4 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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            3 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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              2 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.

      • zaphod@sopuli.xyz
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        10 hours ago

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

        • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world
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          10 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.