The last sentence of the paragraph , 'the US can no longer be trusted to provide for their security', a pre-cursor to the new 5% rule ? Heck, between that and our social programs , where is the $$ to come from ??
That's fair. The rest of NATO and other allies have been laggards for quite a few years now. Events over the past few years have served as a wakeup call.
That said, while the present administration indicates that they may not be so willing to come to the aid of allies, they are still making major increases to the defense budget. Where does that money come from? Maybe those social programs you mentioned?
I don't think it's so much the money issue, as Trump doesn't value US allies - period. Everyone could increase defense budgets to 5%, then it would be some other excuse.
While US allies may have been stingy on investing in their militaries, only one country has ever invoked Article 5 of the NATO treaty, and that's the USA. A lot of allies answered the call and went into Afghanistan and Iraq. It cost them a lot of money and a lot of lives. That should not be forgotten, because we're in this together. Well, at least we're supposed to be in this together.
Anyway, the rest of the west have gotten the message and are ramping up defense spending. I hope Americans aren't too surprised when they don't see any benefit from it. Trump is increasing defense and security spending, while cutting everything else.
