shermann7, NATO Is Obsolete. That Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Valuable
Judah Grunstein Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017
[...]
The alarm in Europe is both surprising and understandable. It is surprising, because questions about NATO’s relevance and American resentment over European free-riding have dogged the alliance since the end of the Cold War. With the demise of the existential threat represented by the Soviet Union, the alliance suffered an identity crisis. Limited operations in the Balkans sufficed to create a manufactured need for a time, before the post-9/11 push for NATO to become a global security actor—to “go out of theater or go out of business”—seemed to definitively fill the gap. The disappointment of the alliance’s Afghanistan mission, combined with the train wreck of the Libya intervention, relegated “out of theater” to the trash heap.
[...]
At the same time, this alarm is understandable, primarily because Trump’s tone is so different than any of his predecessors. While every American president since the end of the Cold War has tried to tackle the question of NATO’s relevance and the problem of burden-sharing, they did so through a framework of clear respect for the alliance’s historical importance and the centrality of trans-Atlantic ties to America’s global security posture. Trump seems unburdened by the history of those ties, and his seeming willingness to walk away from the table makes his threats even more alarming.
Moreover, while Russia’s resurgence, and Moscow’s clear willingness to use military force to further its political objectives, do not represent an existential threat to Europe, they have raised the stakes. The prospect of a U.S.-Russia détente have only exacerbated the unease, particularly in the Baltic states, where the threat of Russian coercion, and perhaps worse, is most compelling. But a Russian conquest of Europe remains far-fetched. In reality, NATO’s collapse would most likely result in a political accommodation that would be manageable for all the major European powers.
Obsolete suggests dead and buried, no longer used. Outdated in part and needing upgrades/new directions/new focuses in areas suits more. I don't like this heading,
Trump Was Right: NATO Is Obsolete
To fight the wars to come, the transatlantic alliance is going to need to start spending more — but not on tanks and fighter jets.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
