Merkel: Germany Must Increase Military Spending Toward NATO Goals

Says Germany Not Meeting Alliance's Expectations

Speaking today at the lower house of parliament, German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked up the idea of dramatic increases in military spending for the nation, with an eye toward reaching the percentages that the US has sought to mandate on NATO member nations.

Germany is presently the ninth largest military power in the world, and the fourth largest economy by GDP. The US has sought to require all NATO member nations to spend at least 2% of their GDP annually on their military. If Germany does so, it would spend more on its military than anyone else in Europe, including Russia.

Exactly why Germany would need or even want such a large military is unclear, as they are on extremely good terms with all of their neighbors, and the German public is still strongly averse to international military adventures that would see large number of troops deployed abroad.

Merkel is, however, trying to establish herself as the “leader” of Western liberalism, and her view of that includes outspoken support for international interventionism, and attacking US President-elect Donald Trump for not being sufficiently dedicated militarily to NATO.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.