Could Europe Defend Itself Without the US? - The US Split, Rearmament & Defence Independence
Sponsored by Odoo - https://www.odoo.com/r/21F For three quarters of a century, the NATO alliance has been a fixture of European and North American security. Now however, the allies are embroiled in a very public split and the call by some European leaders has been for more defence independence from the USA. Today, we look at some of the military capabilities the rest of NATO have, what independence might mean, and some of the economic, technical, and political barriers to achieving it. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU Reading and Sourcing (Incomplete - to be updated): NATO expenditure and active personnel figures: https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2024/6/pdf/240617-def-exp-2024-en.pdf https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_223304.htm Platform estimates pulled from sources including Military Balance 2024 Italy calls for US-Europe summit https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-calls-summit-between-us-europeans-says-divisions-make-west-weaker-2025-02-28/ Reporting on aftermath of Whitehouse meeting https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9n5jq42pdo Merz statements & reporting https://www.dw.com/en/german-chancellor-candidate-merz-slams-musk-over-afd-stance/a-71181470 https://www.dw.com/en/friedrich-merz-says-new-german-government-must-make-quick-decisions/video-71749485 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/26/friedrich-merz-us-europe-german-election-victory-nato-defence https://www.politico.eu/article/friedrich-merz-germany-election-united-states-donald-trump-nato/ https://www.trtworld.com/europe/european-unity-needed-to-counter-us-russia-interference-germanys-merz-18268090 https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/merzs-conservatives-push-quick-coalition-talks-after-german-election-win-2025-02-24/ https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/12/30/leading-german-politicians-compare-elon-musk-to-vladimir-putin-over-afd-endorsement https://www.yahoo.com/news/germanys-merz-takes-aim-us-214826429.html Abrams sale to Romania https://www.defensenews.com/land/2023/11/09/state-dept-approves-25b-sale-of-abrams-tanks-to-romania/ Stock prices per google as at time of recording. Caveats & Comments: All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions. Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character. Care has been taken in compiling data, quotes, and other inputs from various sources but errors can occur. Quotes and included data should be considered Timestamps:
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For those who woul want a well sources, comprehensive and critical analysis of European defence in the wake of recent events, check this out. P.S. Perun is probably the only defence analyst that can turn a 1 hour+ PowerPoint into an entertaining listening experience.
If you're not familiar with Perun, a.k.a aussie powerpoint man, then this is a good and timely nudge. yes it's an hour long presentation but if you, like me, love a shit tone of context with you analysis, then his videos are like christmas youtu.be/7giYIisLuaA?...
…and it’s time for our favourite military procurement expert. I guess he had this topic in his pipeline since he’s more Kallas than Scholz in terms of his response time.
This is excellent as well. youtu.be/7giYIisLuaA?...
#NAFO #FELLAS Great and hugely detailed piece on how much the Non-US NATO Nations defense sectors, with Ukraine, could relatively easily punch above the weight of the US contribution to NATO Never mind that Hegseth is shrinking the Pentagon by 40% youtu.be/7giYIisLuaA?...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7giY... Hier wird ganz gut erklärt warum ich ein Sondervermögen BW für unnötig halte Russland ist schwächer als gerne dargestellt Mit Chinas Hilfe (Soldaten) werden sie gefährlich ABER China hat kein Interesse an einem starken Russland, welches Europa erobert. ...
And bang on cue, Perun delivers exactly the video we've all been wanting: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7giY...
Could NATO survive without the US? The answer would surprise you. If Europe remains committed to the goal of spending 3% of their GDPs on defense, non-US NATO is bigger than the US military. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7giY...
Oekraine niet bij de Europese defensie betrekken zou zooooo stom zijn www.youtube.com/watch?v=7giY...
Perun is an interesting channel. He covers the Ukraine war, but from a highlevel statistics perspective more than politics. So, things from military contracts, logistics, counting the number of tanks on satellite images over time. Aussie. Dry wit. Informative youtu.be/7giYIisLuaA?...
youtu.be/7giYIisLuaA?...
Yes we fucking can www.youtube.com/watch?v=7giY...
Critical point that, if the non-US NATO members want to defend the continent alone, they'll need to stitch _everyone's_ patchwork of systems/platforms together, versus existing reliance on cohesive, integrated US military/intel capabilities. youtu.be/7giYIisLuaA
Latest Perun did a lot to calm me down and chill me out. Okay, yes, cooperation and actually committing to the necessary change and efforts is hard, but it's good to know that non-US parts of NATO aren't boned without the US - if they commit to the necessary change. youtu.be/7giYIisLuaA?...
Try this for a fairly independent take on that question. It’s an hour but worth the time. Peru’s is a defence procurement specialist from Australia. In summary, yes Europe can if it has the political will. youtu.be/7giYIisLuaA?...
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