Why can't Europe defend itself?

[Lemur]

The Manx are not part of the UK, they are a crown dependency

That sounds like a sweet deal. How do I go about applying to be a "crown dependecy"?

[Hax]

That's just how it is, we're the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The Manx are not part of the UK, they are a crown dependency, they have their own government, with the Queen as Head of State, although they still have have British citizenship.

Intriguing.

We don't like to defend ourselves, seeing how we're cheese-loving surrender monkeys. Not just the French, all of us.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Only corrupt countries - state power used for private gain - spend more than 2% on defense. Such as the basket cases of socialist Greece, mobster-ran Bulgaria, and neoliberal America.


Massive defense spending is just a means to get one's snout in the through filled with taxpayer's money. Nobody militarily threatens Europe or America, and one does not need to fight a mule powered Taleban with an aircraft carrier.
(Rather, if you use a $1.5 trillion dollar of equipment to fight somebody with $22,50 worth of equipment, and you don't win instantly, then obviously you are not getting your money's worth and you need to spend it all more wisely.)

[Furunculus]

Only corrupt countries - state power used for private gain - spend more than 2% on defense. Such as the basket cases of socialist Greece, mobster-ran Bulgaria, and neoliberal America.

needless to say i disagree with you.

2.0% should be the minimum a country spends, at least if they are a NATO member.

[a completely inoffensive name]

The EU has learned the lesson that war is not supposed to be encouraged and supported at the drop of a hat. Also, there are no more great enemies or rivalries to be fought out. The world was consolidated into two spheres, and now with free market capitalism coming out as the dominant, the world is connected to the point where everyone is supporting each other economies. We support the Chinese, the Chinese support someone else and etc...all the way until it reaches back to us. Anyone who says the Chinese will attack us is wrong. Anyone who says that Russia will attack us is wrong. China needs to sell crap, Russia needs to sell natural gas.

Arab threats all stem from the Isreali-Palistinian conflict, it serves as the great tool for recruiting destabilizing terrorists. If we simply manage to come to a peaceful solution to that conflict, the world will be likely be safer then it has been for a long time.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Arab threats all stem from the Isreali-Palistinian conflict, it serves as the great tool for recruiting destabilizing terrorists. If we simply manage to come to a peaceful solution to that conflict, the world will be likely be safer then it has been for a long time.

Well mostly from a combination of internal instability, and Western interference. See if you are upset about the local dictator abusing his power and having his “police”/intelligence service harass you every time you speak out against him, then if you learn that he's supported by some foreign power some of your feeling of frustration, aggression and hatred is going to be redirected onto that foreign power. As it happens, that power is often the USA and (less visibly) the EU.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

All of your self-entitlement programs don't help match ethiter.

[Tellos Athenaios]

All of your self-entitlement programs don't help match ethiter.

Match who or what and why? There's just no compelling military threat to Europe. Our armed forces are quite capable; we simply do not have world domination aspirations just yet.

[Vuk]

Match who or what and why? There's just no compelling military threat to Europe. Our armed forces are quite capable; we simply do not have world domination aspirations just yet.

Capable of what? Smoking cigarettes, being out of shape, shooting their allies, and running at the first sign of resistance? You say that Russia would not be able to invade Europe...that is BS. Russia has the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, and it would only take the threat of using them to bring all of Europe quivering to its knees. Russia could probably take most of Europe in a few months, and it would be a great opportunity for them to get American armies (coming to aid their worthless European allies) onto the European mainland, so that they could do considerable damage without having to seriously fight the American Navy. Of course if that did happen, they would no doubt have China as an ally, which would really ruin America and Europe's day. If such a scenario, the only serious hope that America would have would be in getting India as a military ally. With such a large population, and funded and aided by America, it could prove to be quite a distraction to the Chinese.
You are out of your minds if you really think that Russia is not a threat to Europe. They are extremely capable, have experience, and have a lot of nukes.
When it gets down to it, it really does not matter per say how big the military is, but the quality of the citizenry (from which military personnel and decision makers will be drawn). Strong people will hold out, weak people will not. Western Europe could be taken over by a rabid 100 year old grandmother with a butter knife.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

.... Western Europe could be taken over by a rabid 100 year old grandmother with a butter knife.

Clearly, I would not enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at your house....




Couldn't resist.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Capable of what? Smoking cigarettes, being out of shape, shooting their allies, and running at the first sign of resistance?

Huh, sounds like much the same old “I'm of nationality $x. The $x army is the only model of an army in the world worth considering. These heretics are not following the One True Model, therefore they are weak and useless.” cue being proven wrong time and again.

As for the rest, may I borrow your time machine some day? It's almost a copy of the 20's-50's military thinking. That's been debunked so thoroughly before now, but in case you hadn't noticed: we live in the 21st century. The big Russian army contains 3 components:
(1) New Russian high tech. Start ups from the 1990s/early 2000s now making a splash. Good but nothing exceptional, and given the lack of money in the Russian army nothing that will wow us.
(2) Thoroughly corrupt military chain of command, and a lot of young people who simply join the army for the food and shelter; lot's of typical bootcamp “games”. Not really an effective fighting force, just a large one.
(3) Lots of old equipment. Lots and lots of it. No money to maintain it. Kursk.

Don't believe me? Believe the utter military fiasco (in terms of time, money and people required) that is Chechen. A few people with AK's and some home-grown DIY bomb tech manage to occupy the Russian army for how long now?

Western Europe could be taken over by a rabid 100 year old grandmother with a butter knife.

No we bought her off: she's been Queen of the United Kingdom for some time now. It's you who must fear the rabid 100 year old grandmother now.

[Husar]

Capable of what? Smoking cigarettes, being out of shape, shooting their allies, and running at the first sign of resistance? You say that Russia would not be able to invade Europe...that is BS. Russia has the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, and it would only take the threat of using them to bring all of Europe quivering to its knees. Russia could probably take most of Europe in a few months, and it would be a great opportunity for them to get American armies (coming to aid their worthless European allies) onto the European mainland, so that they could do considerable damage without having to seriously fight the American Navy. Of course if that did happen, they would no doubt have China as an ally, which would really ruin America and Europe's day. If such a scenario, the only serious hope that America would have would be in getting India as a military ally. With such a large population, and funded and aided by America, it could prove to be quite a distraction to the Chinese.
You are out of your minds if you really think that Russia is not a threat to Europe. They are extremely capable, have experience, and have a lot of nukes.
When it gets down to it, it really does not matter per say how big the military is, but the quality of the citizenry (from which military personnel and decision makers will be drawn). Strong people will hold out, weak people will not. Western Europe could be taken over by a rabid 100 year old grandmother with a butter knife.

So you think Europe is full of weak people? So what? America is full of fat people, and China is becoming fat, too. No challenge for a healthy european population.
If you think nukes are a problem for Europe, then what about nukes being a problem for Russia? The UK and France have nukes, Germany and possibly others have US nukes stationed on their territory(I don't really need to explain why we don't have our own, do I?), it's not completely one-sided.
Another question is who will Russia extort with their gas prices after nuking all their customers?

[Beskar]

Capable of what? Smoking cigarettes, being out of shape, shooting their allies, and running at the first sign of resistance?

Why are you bringing the American military up?

[Lemur]

Arab threats all stem from the Isreali-Palistinian conflict, it serves as the great tool for recruiting destabilizing terrorists. If we simply manage to come to a peaceful solution to that conflict, the world will be likely be safer then it has been for a long time.

Oh, well then, any minute now world peace will break out. 'Cause the Israelis and Palestinians are such reasonable people.

[Tellos Athenaios]

That sounds like a sweet deal. How do I go about applying to be a "crown dependecy"?

First you cut off your tail. Second you find some ancient military conflict which you then resolve by you ceding your formal independence from the Crown in exchange for substantial de-facto autonomy. Next you continue to be utterly insignificant in every way you can and you do not challenge Great Britain in any respect. If you're lucky nobody notices you and your status becomes one of those old relics of the past and nobody will bother with the trouble of reorganising your domain.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

"World domination aspirations" :/

[Rhyfelwyr]

The world was consolidated into two spheres, and now with free market capitalism coming out as the dominant, the world is connected to the point where everyone is supporting each other economies. We support the Chinese, the Chinese support someone else and etc...all the way until it reaches back to us. Anyone who says the Chinese will attack us is wrong. Anyone who says that Russia will attack us is wrong. China needs to sell crap, Russia needs to sell natural gas.

They used this exact same argument about economic interconnectedness making war improbable right before the First World War. Improvements in technology have made states today more capable of being self-sufficient than at any time in the past, there's really no reason to be complacent that a war won't come about over conflicts of interest.

That sounds like a sweet deal. How do I go about applying to be a "crown dependecy"?

There's nothing you can do about it, you blew your chance so it's up to us now if we want to take you back. And we're still in a huff with you after 1776, so don't get your hopes up...

[Louis VI the Fat]

http://www.rydercup.com/2010/europe/

[Husar]

They used this exact same argument about economic interconnectedness making war improbable right before the First World War. Improvements in technology have made states today more capable of being self-sufficient than at any time in the past, there's really no reason to be complacent that a war won't come about over conflicts of interest.

The problem here seems to be that the two states that could threaten us the most finance their armies by selling stuff to us. If they attack us, they will run into great financial problems. And if you look at history, many times when Europe as a whole was under attack, it managed to work together and fend of the attackers, the Austrians alone didn't drive the Ottomans back for example, neither did the spanish do their reconquista solely with spanish soldiers. Except the USA perhaps, I don't see anyone successfully invading a Europe that stands united unless they use nukes. Another question would be why? What ressources? Since when has Europe got any ressources left? Russia surely doesn't need any more land than it has right now, China could find a lot of easier targets to expand, so why would either of them attack the hand that pays them? The results would be devastating, first they'd lose their army, then they'd go bankrupt and to top it off, some 12 US carriers and 3 european ones might start bombarding their homeland if they hadn't already surrendered at that point.not to forget that other countries might side with Europe, I'm not sure China has all that many friends in Asia either, some wannabe-autonomous regions could rebel, some neighbors try to side with Europe to get a piece of the Chinese cake. Russia isn't even as much a threat as China, the cold war is over, i wouldn't even think they have any interest in attacking Europe at all, they want to be influential and get a say in this or that, but I think they're too clever to actually bite. We also helped them out when they're in trouble, maybe that doesn't do a lot to a pragmatic leader, but can such a leader start a very dangerous war against the will of a large part of the citizentry?

Europe isn't half as defenseless as few here seem to think, next I'm going to open a thread called "Is america unable to build decent guns or why does the Abrams tank use a 120mm Rheinmetall gun from Germany?"

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I don't see why we are talking about europe being able to defend itself or whether anyone is going to attack it (although the OP starts on that point it seems like we can leap beyond that...). It seems like the more contentious issue has to do with being able to project power around the world and contain aggressive dictators. Does anyone have an idea what the world would look like if the US didn't have that ability? What would south korea look like? That's the only concrete thing I can think of. So the question seems to be, should Europe shoulder its share of that, or can they just shrug it off as "world domination aspirations"?

Whether you agree with the US's current attempts is irrelevant, unless you want to argue that all such attempts are necessarily bad in the way you argue they are.

[Husar]

Well, there are people even in the US who think an isolationist policy and letting other states deal with their own matters without interference is the best way to go. The world would look different, for example less people in South America would be angry at the US for installing puppets in their country, there would be no Palestinia-Israel conflict ( ) and less people in Arabia would turn to terrorism to oppose US bases in Arabia, South Korea might be North Korea now, Vietnam might be North Vietnam now but then how is that any of our business? If the soldiers of Korea want to worship their "great" leader while their families starve, that's their decision. As Afghanistan shows, some people just don't value their freedom a lot when you force it onto them.

[Rhyfelwyr]

@Husar: Much of what you said is circumstancial. There is real competition for resources and China is pushing its weight in the new scramble for Africa. As for the practicality of war, that has been shown to be a very changeable thing throughout history, depending on various changes in relations between society/politics/the military, which are far too complex to predict. I agree the circumstances right now make war unlikely, but so what, things change more than ever these days, only seventy years ago we had the first truly total war. Things might have reversed since then but there's no reason to assume that trend will continue.

It seems like the more contentious issue has to do with being able to project power around the world and contain aggressive dictators. Does anyone have an idea what the world would look like if the US didn't have that ability? What would south korea look like? That's the only concrete thing I can think of. So the question seems to be, should Europe shoulder its share of that, or can they just shrug it off as "world domination aspirations"?

While such measures might protect western strategic interests, I'm not convined they will spread democracy and create a lasting peace. The strength/roots of democracy lie in society, not in the political system itself. There are many social preconditions for democracy, like a strong middle class, an industrialised economy,centralised government etc. There can't be created overnight, and they weren't created overnight in South Korea either.

Of course, you could point out the state of affairs in North Korea, which was historically always one with the south, but I would argue that things have only been able to get the way they have done there because of international influence, artificially propping up the regime. Unfortunately things are now so bad you can't take away the food aid without everybody dying, but again that's because of foreign influence, hindering the natural deveopment of the state.

Having American troops running round having 'regime changes' seems superficial to me.

[Husar]

Things might have reversed since then but there's no reason to assume that trend will continue.

So you think there will be a nuclear war over ressources and we'll all die in the end? Because that's kinda the only way for China to beat the US, and incidentally will lead to destruction of China as well, it's a MAD scenario, also incidentally a lot of western nations are moving away from ressource-based economies. Whether that is a good or a bad idea is for another topic, but at the moment we don't seem to have a lot of incentive to compete with China over steel, in fact we're selling them our steel production facilities. Oil may be a factor but sooner or later electric cars are going to become more normal I hope and some guys in Saxony or so have found a way to make plastic from wood, hah! I just think there are many factors to such things and there isn't all that much of a reason to assume things will change as well.
In a nuclear war, having a huge armed force won't help Europe either. And if we actually need a huge force, we can still stock up, at the moment though a lot of nations have a tendency to go for smaller, better equipped and more specialized force, of course you can claim to know better than the defense minister of Germany for example, but I'm not sure I would believe you.
Those smaller forces are also meant for things like proxy wars, but I doubt we'll get something like a carrier anytime soon, more likely the forces would be flown into a friendly country nearby.

[gaelic cowboy]

I remember reading a paper on the internet some while back about the likely senario of a China/USA nuclear war and how it might end.

The author came to the conclusion that while China would lose but they could deal a crippling blow to the USA with less than a dozen nukes and USA would crumble due to her reliance on the major population centers for economic and industrial strength.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Does anyone have an idea what the world would look like if the US didn't have that ability? What would south korea look like? That's the only concrete thing I can think of.

And what would Iraq look like? Or Vietnam, or the middle east at large? See for every good there's also a bad to mention there. You are forgetting that this was not just the USA being generous in supporting the “good cause” it was (certainly later on) as much if not more the USA acting in what it believed to be its self interest.

So the question seems to be, should Europe shoulder its share of that, or can they just shrug it off as "world domination aspirations"?

Europe does not have to act in the USA's best interests. Just like the USA does not have to assist the UK either. And for what it's worth Europe is plenty often involved in “its share of that” at the USA's request. But why should we buy into this whole “big armies” thing now? For simply projecting force it is sufficient to have a few highly trained corps and some relatively expensive kit; loads of grunt power is not necessary.

Whether you agree with the US's current attempts is irrelevant, unless you want to argue that all such attempts are necessarily bad in the way you argue they are.

I'm not even saying the current situation is that bad. What I'm saying that there are alternatives which so far seem to work equally well or equally bad but do not require as much day to day management of scrapheaps and are cheaper due to that. So why should we copy the USA to no gain?

[rory_20_uk]

It's worse than not necessary - a large conventional army is expensive to move around, liable to cause bad press (killing locals or dying) and often ineffective. Intel-led special forces along with high tech backup isn't the silver bullet but is comparatively cheaper, harder for the enemy to hit and a lot easier to withdraw.

America and Americans appear to be incapable of understanding that their wants may not be the best for the rest of the world.

[InsaneApache]

Europe can defend itself and does. One of the reasons that euro-weenies don't project power is a hangover from empire. One of the consequences of the USA entering WWII was their insistence on the colonial powers dismantling their empires.

You're asking to have it both ways.

Then there's the economic situation at the moment. The difference between Europe and the USA is that our political systems evolved over centuries, whilst the USA got a brand new shiny one from the off. That's why the USA is broadly more right wing than Europe.

As an aside, during the American Revolution, Paul Revere would never have said "The British are coming", as he would have considered himself British. Strange I know to the modern American ear but there we are. Rather he said "The Regulars are out".

The colonialists considered themselves the true heirs of the English Civil War a hundred years earliier.

Makes more sense if you think about it.

[Vladimir]

Europe can defend itself and does. One of the reasons that euro-weenies don't project power is a hangover from empire. One of the consequences of the USA entering WWII was their insistence on the colonial powers dismantling their empires.

You're asking to have it both ways.

Then there's the economic situation at the moment. The difference between Europe and the USA is that our political systems evolved over centuries, whilst the USA got a brand new shiny one from the off. That's why the USA is broadly more right wing than Europe.

As an aside, during the American Revolution, Paul Revere would never have said "The British are coming", as he would have considered himself British. Strange I know to the modern American ear but there we are. Rather he said "The Regulars are out".

The colonialists considered themselves the true heirs of the English Civil War a hundred years earliier.

Makes more sense if you think about it.

I nominate this for the Post of the Thread award.

Oh and:

Quote Originally Posted by Andres View Post

It doesn't matter to you anyway, because you'll burn at the stake tonight for falsely accusing me of having a cellar filled with dishwater "Heineken" (I hope you payed your 75 $ or it'll be the last time you insulted me that way ) When will you learn that "Heineken" is not beer, let alone good beer. My cellar is filled with Ciney, Leffe, Floreffe, Quintine, Kriek Boon, the finest French and Spanish wines, champagne and a delicious bottle of Spumante.



I was offended by this as well.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

And what would Iraq look like? Or Vietnam, or the middle east at large? See for every good there's also a bad to mention there. You are forgetting that this was not just the USA being generous in supporting the “good cause” it was (certainly later on) as much if not more the USA acting in what it believed to be its self interest.

What kind of self interest? Well that's a big tangent probably. But you are shooting yourself in the foot here. If the US is doing a bad job, then Europe should step up.

Europe does not have to act in the USA's best interests. Just like the USA does not have to assist the UK either. And for what it's worth Europe is plenty often involved in “its share of that” at the USA's request. But why should we buy into this whole “big armies” thing now? For simply projecting force it is sufficient to have a few highly trained corps and some relatively expensive kit; loads of grunt power is not necessary.

I'll leave the military argument aside because saying what kind of force is needed is too big a question for me

But how is this about Europe acting in the USA's interests? Surely it is about Europe acting in the worlds best interest. You have to answer up to that.

I'm not even saying the current situation is that bad. What I'm saying that there are alternatives which so far seem to work equally well or equally bad but do not require as much day to day management of scrapheaps and are cheaper due to that. So why should we copy the USA to no gain?

What alternatives work well?

Well, if we can have more or less the same level of freedom and wealth under whatever new overlords, then, frankly, I don't care about which macho type tries to tell me he is ruling the world and that I'm a weakling. If that's what makes him happy, let him. I'm happy with my house, my car, my fridge full of food, my cellar full of wine and beer, some money on my savings accounts, firefighters nearby and enough free time and money to go on a holiday every once in a while.

If working your butt off with no holidays and no social security to maintain an awfully expensive army that needs to wage war every once in a while to justify its' existence is what makes you happy, then by all means, carry on. As long as you keep said army out of here (unless for defending me on your expenses), it's all fine by me

How is it about "ruling the world"? If some muscular guy said he was going to try and stop a woman being raped would you say that you were too busy going on vacation in your unburnt house with a cellar full of heinaken?

The EU has the golden opportunity to let the USA handle the fire zones and get the ill will, while Europe lean back and take the morale upper ground while still getting the better of the financial outcome.

Yes, that is the accusation made of Europe. It may be a golden opportunity economically, but is it justifiable?

***********

Bear in mind we're discussing a theoretical point in which large western militaries are an important preventative and policing force. The question of whether it is good or possible in reality is kind of hardcore.

[al Roumi]

What kind of self interest? Well that's a big tangent probably. But you are shooting yourself in the foot here. If the US is doing a bad job, then Europe should step up.

But how is this about Europe acting in the USA's interests? Surely it is about Europe acting in the worlds best interest. You have to answer up to that.

Bear in mind we're discussing a theoretical point in which large western militaries are an important preventative and policing force. The question of whether it is good or possible in reality is kind of hardcore.

There are cases where the US has arguably intervened in the interests of "world peace" and global good. These are arguably thinner on the ground of late. I would say the more positive examples lie around 50+ years ago, with the possible recent exception of Balkan missions e.g. Kosovo.

Do you really think the prime motivational factor for the US' adventurism since WW2 has been anything other than in its own interest, or that of its ideology? If it has and continues to claim the motive of "world peace", it has always been world peace on the USA's terms.