Much is being made of the recent Oval Office tiff between President Trump and President Zelensky. Critics claim that Trump's failure to support Ukraine in its continuing battle against Russia is no different from taking Putin's side in the conflict. Always, criticism of Ukraine is labeled as apologist behavior on behalf of Russia. However, I want to know what is our interest in Ukraine? What national interest are we serving? Why can't the Europeans tackle this one? Let's consider some numbers:
Russia is the 11th largest economy in the world with a $2 trillion GDP. It has a population of 145 million people.
The United States is the largest economy with a $27 trillion GDP. We have population of 343 million.
If not for nuclear warheads, Russia is a gnat compared to the USA. But what about Europe?
The European Union consists of 27 countries with a combined GDP of $18.6 trillion and a combined population of 450 million. Germany alone has a GDP of $4.5 trillion (more than double Russia, you will note) and a population of 84 million. France and Italy also have larger GDPs than Russia. Why can't the European Union deal with the Ukraine problem? After all, it is their backyard, not ours.
Let's consider NATO. Not including the USA, there are 31 NATO countries with a combined GDP of $24.7 trillion and a combined population of 640 million. That is 12 times the GDP and 4 times the population of Russia. Moreover, several of these countries are nuclear powers.
After World War II, it made sense for the United States to guarantee the defense of Europe while it rebuilt from the ruins. The Soviets had shown a clear desire to annex territory and impose communism. NATO was needed to defend the remnants of the West. Today, that clearly isn't the case. The Soviet Union collapse 30 years ago and we are pretending it is still a threat. Either the European Union or the Non-USA members of NATO could easily defeat Russia if they put any resources into it. The US should have spent the last 30 years weening Europe off of the USA paying for its defense. They're all grown up now and can defend themselves.
NATO has outlived its purpose. We should stop funding Ukraine and stop subsidizing European defense.
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