Should NATO be folded in favor of a European Union unified command?

[PanzerJaeger]

NATO should be disbanded. Europe has essentially become a backwater within the geopolitical equation and is certainly no longer a part of the world that is key to US interests. An EU unified command would resemble the EU in general, which is to say it would be a dithering, bureaucratic mess. The major economies should return to pursuing their own interests and maintaining their own militaries. A hypothetical war between Germany and France/Britain is highly unlikely today and even if it happened, their importance on the world stage has been so diminished that it would not have nearly the global impact that such wars had during the last century.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

NATO should be disbanded. Europe has essentially become a backwater within the geopolitical equation and is certainly no longer a part of the world that is key to US interests. An EU unified command would resemble the EU in general, which is to say it would be a dithering, bureaucratic mess. The major economies should return to pursuing their own interests and maintaining their own militaries. A hypothetical war between Germany and France/Britain is highly unlikely today and even if it happened, their importance on the world stage has been so diminished that it would not have nearly the global impact that such wars had during the last century.

Panzer, you have simply got to stop sugar-coating your opinions...

[ICantSpellDawg]

NATO should be disbanded. Europe has essentially become a backwater within the geopolitical equation and is certainly no longer a part of the world that is key to US interests. An EU unified command would resemble the EU in general, which is to say it would be a dithering, bureaucratic mess. The major economies should return to pursuing their own interests and maintaining their own militaries. A hypothetical war between Germany and France/Britain is highly unlikely today and even if it happened, their importance on the world stage has been so diminished that it would not have nearly the global impact that such wars had during the last century.

I was enjoying your criticism of those nerds, but I no longer think of NATO as useful for keeping European wars from happening, but instead for securing the budding periphery. Think of it, purely, as mutual defense treaty. Without it, would Latvia, Estonia or Lithuania be safe? If they aren't safe, would Poland be safe? Clearly, European stability is a western interest. Russia is a very real threat to European stability. It won't always be a threat, but there are new threats growing larger every day.

I wish that the EU contributed more to its own security. Years ago, the benefit to NATO, beyond the counterbalance to the Soviets, was that it deterred the untrustworthy euroweenies from building up their military means. This served a purpose then, but not now.