Europe, the Military Pygmy

The operation in Libya has shown again that the condition of NATO is very grim. The outgoing American Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, is not afraid of making bold statements. In the past, he had repeatedly criticized his own military forces and the imperfections of the NATO alliance. Now, as he is about to leave his office, he decided to remind everyone that the European members of the alliance are doing too little to increase their military potential, which can lead to a decreased tolerance for NATO financing in the Congress. The Europeans are America’s customers in terms of security, not partners.

The remarks of Secretary Gates are painfully true. The expenditures of the 26 nations of the Old Continent amount to merely a quarter of the NATO budget. Europeans are largely dependent on American ammunition, satellite reconnaissance, in-flight refueling and AWACS planes. The nuclear weapons available to NATO are also exclusively American. Even though the European Union has declared intentions for a common defense, these are just hollow statements which are only worth the paper they were printed on. Lord Robertson’s statement that Europe is a “military pygmy,” made a couple of years ago, is still true. The dangerous gap in military potential has been increasing; since 9/11, European military expenditures have fallen by 15 percent, even with the Iraq war and the interventions in Afghanistan and Libya.

One could ask, “So what?” Appearances can be deceiving, however, and the consequences are very serious. Europe was not able to solve the Balkan crisis on its own; now it can’t handle the Libya operation. Europe cannot act militarily without the United States, to whom it falls to prop up a military umbrella over the continent. We have become America’s little brother. What will happen when Washington reaches the conclusion that — and this is already happening — Europe is too weak and worthless and takes down the military umbrella? Will Russia, with its neo-imperialist aspirations, see Europe as a viable partner? What will happen when Moscow decides to exert pressure on the hollow alliance that is the EU by ramping up pressure on the Baltic states?

The deepening disparity of military capabilities will create negative consequences for NATO itself, which, after all, has enormous value. It was this alliance that let Europe survive the Cold War and serves as the foundation for all modern security strategy to this day. This might all change, as the Americans have been engaging in NATO operations with decreasing enthusiasm. Why would it make sense to support allies who are completely useless? The current economic crisis only makes an American abandonment of NATO more tempting. A NATO without the U.S. will collapse and remain as a hollow shell at best. It should be obvious that this scenario won’t benefit anyone in Europe, or in Poland.