Former US Defense Secretary Roberts Gates may be out of office, but the battle for increased military spending across the globe continues, and he has warned Britain’s spending cuts “threaten” their ability to be a partner for the US in its future military adventures.
British Prime Minister David Cameron reacted harshly to the comments, saying Britain was committed to “massive investments” in their military and that they remain a “first class player.”
Gates’ comments reflect similar comments from other US officials, who regularly fault NATO member nations for not approving dramatic military spending increases, arguing that their usefulness to the US, which spends many times more than anyone else, depends on ratcheting up spending to play support roles in future wars.
The issue has become a particularly thorny one, as the recent economic downturn means many nations simply lack the money to keep throwing ever-growing sums into the black hole of overseas conflict, but leaders of those nations continue to play up their military capabilities as a source of national pride.
Let’s take back some of that $3. 1 billion we are giving to Israel.