Outmanned and outgunned. For decades, Europe has relied on the United States for security. The Americans have some 80,000 troops in Europe, and Washington has long said it would respond in kind to any nuclear attack on the continent.
But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Suddenly, European countries saw a real security threat along the borders of half a dozen NATO member states. They’ve raised defense spending, re-energized relationships with NATO, and moved troops closer to Russia. Still, many countries haven’t hit their spending targets, and a lot of military analysts have expressed their doubts about whether Europe’s equipment is good enough or whether its troops are prepared for combat. Is it?—and are they?
Today, John R. Deni looks at how European countries see the threat from Moscow specifically, the continent’s security generally, and the financial challenges complicating their efforts to turn a vision for collective security into a reality …
—Michael Bluhm
