Europe drops the welfare state for fucking what? To spend money in weapons from usa? The same weapons that usa can disable remotely while they treat to invade iceland?
Nice…
Also the same weapons the USA wastes on a completely useless war.
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Europe doesn’t drop anything, it’s an opinion peace from the Financial Times.
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No, not US weapons (or rather: not only). The EU-based military industry is currently booming with countries ordering tonnes of stuff from Germany, Poland, Sweden, and France. All locally designed and built gear.
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No, that’s like dad straight up saying “I know you need new clothes for winter, but I don’t like you and I do like drinking, so I’m going to spend our money at the bar instead.”
Saying we don’t have the money to feed the poor is at least having some shame about it.
The people are what makes the continent.
If you stop defending the people, what are you defending?
Wealth. The wealth of companies and individuals that have no loyalty except to themselves.
I hate this US- American “We HaVe To DeVeNd OuR sElVeS” propaganda BS. They only have two borders. In theory no one would give a shit about them if they were actually only caring about they’re safety!
‘We will kill so many brown people abroad just to kill welfare’ - Liberals
Financial Times has been maskless for a long time.
It’s the highest priced subscription of any paper by far. That alone should tell you something.
It’s sort of there thing. FT is where the business people go to talk about business. The NYT is where they go to scream “Ah! Socialism! China! Migrant Caravans! AI Gap!” at the rubes.
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So let’s kill what makes our countries worth to live in.
Fuck you, bootlicker!
I am worried about Russia and it’s behaviour, but I totally disagree with this narrative across Europe about spending more on defence.
We spend plenty as it is, we just need to reorganise things and integrate our armies and navies. So many resources can be freed up by removing pointless duplication and redundancy, without spending more money at the expense of other parts of our economies.
It won’t happen because nationalism is a disease that infects almost all European countries.
The Royal Navy currently has fewer than 20 vessels active, including coastal boats. This is not enough to secure fisheries, defend the home islands, interdict drugs before they arrive, and to keep open the global shipping lanes Britain relies on existentially. There is no redundancy. Until earlier this year, only one Type 45 destroyer was operable. It had to be removed from its duties and sent to defend Cyprus from air attack, but it took a week to get it ready to leave.
Since the 2010 Strategic Defence Review, British military capability has been gutted. A large investment is now needed to course correct. Many European powers fell into the same complacency trap at the same time.
Some countries, like Ireland, have never had adequate military capability. Ireland has no surface to air missiles - not even a radar tracking system - and no jet aircraft at all. Again, half of its 8 naval vessels are inactive. Russia has been camping out in or near Irish waters happily doing whatever they please. Considering the amount of European data going through Ireland, this is a concern and the Dail is considering whether they need a more comprehensive military.
Exactly.
OK, if you’re worried about Russia, let’s build a few more nukes and drone factories, and call it a day. Unless you’re trying to project power (the US) or use weapons manufacture as a fill-in for failed industrial policy (the US and now Germany), that’s all you need.
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If you want to help Ukraine, feel free to go volunteer. There’s plenty of conscripts there happy to change places with you.
Using them as a proxy to bleed Russia is not helping anyone except the US and weapons manufacturers.
We just have to invest in European defense systems and stop buying shit from US. Funding the fascists is unacceptable
I remember years ago reading an article complaining that Germans are too frugal and their frugality will negatively impact the economy because of lack of consumption. And I thought to myself: “Hang on. I thought they tell us to spend only on what we need?” And if we do spend as they have wanted, the elites will say this is why we can’t afford a house because we spent it all on avocado toasts.
This is the hypocrisy, gas lighting and double standards of capitalism. They tell us such and such is good, and when we do exactly what they tell us, and it has had negative consequences, they say it’s our fault. It reminds me of one of the episodes in the first season of Squid Game, in which the players were winning but the games master broke the rules to handicap the players.
Wish this wasn’t evergreen.
I agree that Europe need to spend more on defense and be less dependant on the US, but tax the rich for crying out loud! Welfare does not need to be cut for this.
We do not need to spend more on defense, cos there is no threat. I mean Russia is losing against Ukraine, how tf are they supposed to be a threat for the rest of europe? And neither China nor India are threating Europe. The only answer I MIGHT accept is defense against the USA.
Well yes, exactly. A fascist USA is a good example for a threat if they don’t get their shit together over there.
And Russia is absolutely a threat. We have been in a cold war with them for quite some time without even knowing it. Russia is a large part of why right-wing extremists parties are so popular in Europe. They are actively destroying democracy in Europe. That is an existential threat, at least to our values as society and democracy.
Ah, the US dependence myth strikes again. #merica
So you’re just shifting money to defense for shits and giggles then? Not because the US is no longer a reliable ally footing most of the western defense bill?
Okay.
How is it a myth? Europe is lacking for example in high-altitude air defense systems. Or are there European Systems that I am unaware of?
And thats just one example of many. Just look at how much of the European air force is composed of US Jets.
Where is a good guillotine when you need one.
Or better, send the asshole and perhaps his family to a war somewhere, so he knows first hand what he is asking about.
There’s plenty of conscripts in the trenches in Ukraine who will swap spots with these NAFO chickenhawks in a second . . .
Well, you know, no way to defend if you forget about nuclear weapons, lol.
It’s like the author saw the gap in the market left by the glorious demise of Rod fucking Liddle, and figured he’d toss his hat in the ring.
«Opinion» pieces are a way for news media to cover their asses.
