Why US Allies Shouldn’t Free Ride

[mota bhai 2,675]

By James R. Holmes
July 26, 2014

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The United States free-rode on the Royal Navy during Great Britain’s age of naval mastery.

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The United States took up the slack on the high seas as Britain went into decline. During the 20th century the republic made itself the Western Hemisphere’s, and then the free world’s, chief defender. Accordingly, many Eurasian allies now free-ride on the United States. They spend a trifling amount on defense relative to their means — and relative to what America spends relative to its means.

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Many allies dedicate under 2 percent of GDP to their armed forces, whereas Washington spent 4.4 percent of GDP in 2012. U.S. taxpayers shelled out an average of 6 percent of GDP annually throughout the Cold War. Whether an ally matches what America spends makes a rough-and-ready gauge for an ally’s mettle. Few measure up.

Such neglect betokens dangerous levels of trust in America’s capacity to bear the brunt of allied defense. This isn’t kicking the dirt over American decline. It’s simple political reality. There are no automatic commitments to dispatch forces to protect others. If you doubt me, parse the text of the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, or even Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. You’ll find wiggle-room in the closest of international covenants.

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Allies kid themselves if they assume a U.S. president can simply throw a switch in times of trouble, setting the military machinery in motion. Don’t depend on us too much, folks.

http://thediplomat.com/2014/07/why-us-allies-shouldnt-free-ride/