{"id":592292,"date":"2026-04-28T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=592292"},"modified":"2026-04-28T07:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:30:00","slug":"nato-minus-us-european-militaries-wont-add-up-to-deter-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=592292","title":{"rendered":"NATO Minus US: European Militaries Won’t Add Up To Deter Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

NATO Minus US: European Militaries Won’t Add Up To Deter Russia<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization\u2019s European nations would need to bolster standing militaries by at least 300,000 troops and significantly boost defense spending beyond 3.5 percent of gross domestic product <\/strong>– at least 250 billion euros – while reviving and integrating their industrial base to defend themselves against Russia without the United States.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And they\u2019d need to do that fast, <\/strong>according to a 2025 joint analysis by European think tanks Bruegel and the Kiel Institute for World Economy.<\/p>\n

They warn that even with 80,000 American soldiers and airmen stationed on 30 bases on the continent\u2014and the United States\u2019 capacity to rapidly deploy forces\u2014Moscow will test NATO\u2019s resolve \u201cwithin three to 10 years.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The once-inconceivable prospect of the United States withdrawing from NATO is now a possibility. President Donald Trump\u2014never a fan of the 32-nation coalition the Pentagon has spearheaded since 1949\u2014has called<\/u><\/a> for a \u201cvery serious examining\u201d of the alliance, after its members failed to respond to his appeal to assist in the Iran war or join the U.S. Navy\u2019s Arabian Sea blockade of Iranian shipping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump has vowed Europeans could face a \u201creckoning<\/u><\/a>\u201d without American leadership and support. Such a departure would require unlikely congressional approval, but the president\u2019s statements are sparking discussion on both sides of the Atlantic about a restructuring of the alliance that would require Europeans to shoulder more of NATO\u2019s burden.<\/p>\n

As widely reported, European allies are actively discussing and preparing for a \u201cNATO minus U.S.\u201d scenario<\/strong>. The idea originated in response to Trump\u2019s demand for Europeans to bulk up support for Ukraine in fighting off Russia\u2019s invasion, his threats to seize Greenland from Denmark, and his characterization of member states as \u201ccowards<\/u><\/a>\u201d unlikely to uphold NATO\u2019s commitments.<\/p>\n

While Americans have questioned NATO\u2019s post-Cold War resolve since former President Barack Obama\u2019s administration, Europeans in turn have questioned Trump\u2019s reliability in meeting treaty obligations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In response to Trump\u2019s demand that NATO allies commit 5 percent of GDP to defense, members agreed during the alliance\u2019s 2025 summit to commit 3.5 percent to their militaries\u2014roughly matching the percent of GDP the U.S. spends on its armed forces\u2014and 1.5 percent for infrastructure improvements, such as cybersecurity, crisis response, and adapting roads, rail lines, bridges, and ports to military needs.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
Ukraine\u2019s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (L) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte address the audience during a press statement at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Oct. 15, 2025. Prodding by the United States to be more self-reliant in continental defense was already an urgency in most European capitals after Russia\u2019s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Nicolas Tucat\/AFP via Getty Images<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Muscle and Money<\/h2>\n

The Bruegel\/Kiel Institute analysis documents Europe\u2019s armies have a combined force of about 1.5 million troops. In order to withstand a hypothetical Russian invasion, a European-only force would need 300,000 more infantry soldiers, or roughly 50 more brigades, than it had in 2025. It would need a minimum of 1,400 tanks, 2,000 infantry fighting vehicles, and 700 artillery pieces with more than 1 million 155 mm shells\u2014the minimum for three months of combat, the Bruegel\/Kiel Institute analysis states.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That boost in manpower and armaments would exceed the current French, German, Italian, and British forces combined.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just ground forces.<\/p>\n

To match Russian war-footing military production\u2014even with Ukraine attrition\u2014a Europe-only military would need collective arms procurement, common armaments, unified logistics, and integrated military units. Such an army would need to replace stationed U.S. forces and rotational deployments within the 65-mile Suwalki Corridor between Poland and Lithuania, while also establishing bases in Moldova and Romania.<\/p>\n

These are but a few of the challenges a \u201cNATO minus the U.S.\u201d would face, military analysts and international relations scholars told The Epoch Times. And as Europeans by necessity assumed a more robust posture on the continent, American forces would need to compensate for the loss of specialties and skills brought by their European allies.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
French soldiers dismantle a drone during the Dynamic Front 26 exercise in Cincu, Romania, on Feb. 9, 2026. In response to Trump\u2019s demand that NATO allies commit 5 percent of GDP to defense, members agreed during its 2025 summit to commit 3.5 percent to their militaries and 1.5 percent for infrastructure improvements. Andrei Pungovschi\/Getty Images<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cNon-U.S. NATO forces are well-trained and have some highly competent defense manufacturing industries<\/strong>,\u201d said University of Miami professor of politics June Teufel Dreyer, a senior Foreign Policy Research Institute fellow and former U.S.\u2013China Economic and Security Review commissioner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

European giants such as Thales and Leonardo would \u201csurely be attracted by the idea of more indigenous investment,\u201d Dreyer said. But, she added, European defense contractors \u201calso know the funds they need aren\u2019t guaranteed\u201d without orders from the U.S. military to, for instance, annually build 2,000 \u201clong-range loitering munitions\u201d\u2014drones\u2014to match Russia\u2019s numbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe French and the Germans build highly thought of diesel-electric submarines; Sweden produces great fighter planes<\/strong>,\u201d Dreyer said.<\/p>\n

But from a nuclear deterrent perspective, a U.S. departure from NATO is problematic. Dreyer pointed to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s June 2025 announcement that Britain would buy at least 12 U.S.-made F-35s to \u201cenhance the interoperability of NATO defense\u201d in its nuclear posture, since these jets would be the UK\u2019s only nuclear deterrent beyond its submarine force. The stealth fighter is the first to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n

U.S. and European allies\u2019 coordination in defense procurement and production \u201csaves money and the R&D costs for the most advanced weapons,\u201d she said, noting while the projected cost for the sixth-generation F-47 is $4.4 billion, but it is a shared NATO expense.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin speaks alongside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on March 21, 2025. Trump announced F-47, a sixth-generation fighter intended to replace the F-22 Raptor, for the Next Generation Air Dominance program. Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Specialties and Skills<\/h2>\n

If NATO ties are severed, the United States will no longer benefit from what retired Navy captain and Epoch Times contributor Carl Schuster calls \u201camazing capabilities that may prove essential in any conflict.\u201d Those capabilities include aircraft and ship design, special ops, and regional know-how such as mountain operations capabilities and Arctic warfare expertise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, many European military assets are aging, and it was only after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine\u2014and Trump\u2019s threats to pull the United States from the alliance\u2014that leaders showed urgency to address the deficiencies, Schuster said.<\/p>\n

He expressed doubts about Spain\u2014which has refused to let the United States use bases on its mainland to attack Iran\u2014and Turkey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSpain has rejected any idea of its ground and air forces being committed to combat outside Spanish territory<\/strong>,\u201c he said. \u201dSo their contribution to NATO defense is more statistical than real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turkey has the alliance\u2019s largest ground force, yet its \u201cwillingness to contribute to the defense of Greece, Bulgaria, and Eastern Europe\u201d may be questionable, he said.<\/p>\n

Middle East Forum Director Gregg Roman also questioned Turkey\u2019s NATO commitment, in a September 2025 column<\/u><\/a> in The Epoch Times, calling for \u201can urgent compartmentalization assessment\u201d after Turkey made overtures to China and Iran during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSix months later,\u201d he said in April, \u201cthat assessment is non-optional. You know, thinking about everything [NATO] is trying to put together\u2014joint air missile defense planning\u2014with an ally like Turkey that is functionally aligned with Iran and the [SCO] bloc that we\u2019re opposing, they can\u2019t be trusted.“<\/em><\/p>\n

Read the rest\u00a0here…<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nTue, 04\/28\/2026 – 03:30<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NATO Minus US: European Militaries Won’t Add Up To Deter Russia Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The North Atlantic Treaty Organization\u2019s European nations would need to bolster standing militaries by at least 300,000 troops and significantly boost defense spending beyond 3.5 percent of gross domestic product – at least 250… Continue reading NATO Minus US: European Militaries Won’t Add Up To Deter Russia<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":592293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-592292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=592292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/592293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=592292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=592292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=592292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}