(08-02-2020, 08:30 PM)homebiscuit Wrote:

(08-02-2020, 07:55 PM)mikesez Wrote: Trump literally believes that the other countries are going to transfer the money to us, or at least be forced to use it to buy american-made hardware.
That's not how alliances or mutual defense work.
Maybe you want it to work that way. Or maybe you are charitably ignoring this part of Trump's rhetoric. "It's just a joke!"
Regardless, why are we demanding that certain allies spend 2% of their GDP on defense and calling it their fair share?
If that's the fair share, why are we spending 3.4% of our GDP on defense? 
By our own formulation, we are drastically overspending in this area!
Yet Trump and other Republicans are actually calling for us to spend more! Romney wanted 4%. That's insane!

I don't know what to say, you're all over the place. The fact of the matter is the United States is the heart of democracy around the world. If we fail it stands little chance of resisting totalitarianism elsewhere. We have an incumbent obligation and expectation to promote and defend freedom around the world, and we do. By all means, other countries that benefit should be paying more and there is an increasing push for redress. It's also good to keep proportionality in mind. During the Cold War we were spending around 5-10% GDP for defense while the Soviets were spending around 45%. While it would be ideal to turn more swords into plowshares, the fact of the matter is that as long as there are countries who want to topple America (especially at the costs the Soviets were willing to spend in money and social impoverishment) we cannot let up.