conflict
Europeans Aren’t Concerned About Russian Bear Invading Continent After Ukraine
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
The foreign policy blob in Washington, D.C., would have us believe that Vladimir Putin is Adolf Hitler 2.0 and must be stopped before he rolls over the rest of Europe. It is an intellectually lazy argument.
In the first place, Russia has struggled in its fight with Ukraine—a small nation with one-fourth Russia’s population and far fewer resources. How would Mother Russia fare against the combined firepower of NATO? Likely not so hot: Europe’s economy is six times larger than Russia’s. Likewise, the population advantage of Europe stands three-to-one over Russia.
Aside from Russia’s vast nuclear weapons stockpiles, it is no match for Europe.
Putin knows he would be crushed in a head-to-head with NATO and has repeatedly made clear that he has no interest in going to war with any NATO country, including Poland.
Secondly, if Europe was seriously under threat from the Russian bear, you might think that Europeans themselves would be more alarmed. They don’t seem to be. In fact, across nearly every threat measured by the Munich Security Council, trends show a downward ebb among Europeans. To most, Russia ranks as a threat below radical Islamic terrorism and mass migration. The Germans are more worried about cyber attacks than Putin; to the French, racism is more worrisome.
Aren’t these the very people America is spending $185 billion in Ukraine to protect from Russian expansionism?
Across the European continent, the United States maintains 100,000 troops on 185 major military bases and 78 minor sites (minor being defined as less than 10 acres or $10 million). Taken altogether, American forward operating bases in Europe sprawl over 265,000 acres with an estimated value of $95.5 billion. When one examines the Department of Defense’s annual budget, protecting Europe is America’s largest yearly expenditure—and that’s before Ukraine supplemental funding is added to the tally.
Yet the average resident of Berlin is likely more worried about his email getting hacked than he frets about the Kremlin rolling tanks through Deutschland.
Europe was the world’s center for combat power from roughly 1400 until 1945. No more. Even the larger armies of NATO are struggling to maintain effective combat power. The British Army cannot sustain a complete expeditionary armored brigade. At 23 years old, the Charles de Gaulle, France’s flagship and sole aircraft carrier, is reaching the end of its effective lifespan but sea trials are not expected to begin for its replacement until 2036.
The French have less than 90 heavy artillery pieces—Russia is losing more each month fighting Ukraine. Reporting in October 2022 found that Germany only had enough ammunition for two days of war, far below the NATO 30-day minimum. In 2022 NATO exercises, none of the Bundeswehr’s 18 new Puma infantry fighting vehicles were able to complete the drill.
Ukraine has revealed many of NATO’s weakness. These led a professor of war studies at the University of Warwick, Anthony King, to remark that Europe has “systematically demilitarized itself because it didn’t need to spend the money. They have basically gone to sleep.”
That ambivalence toward defense comes across in another recent survey of Europeans. Sixty percent of Italians, 47% of Germans and 40% of the French are in favor of cutting off arms shipments to Ukraine. Across Europe, 60% think that Ukraine will be an economic burden. Among the French, Spanish and Italians, more than 40% either don’t know or don’t care who wins the war in Ukraine.
Perhaps America’s security blanket for Europe has been too heavy and we have indeed lulled the continent into a stupor. Or maybe Europeans are correct in their assessment of Putin—that his invasion of Ukraine is not a precursor to the reassembly of the U.S.S.R.
In either case, more American taxpayers are questioning the D.C. logic that demands ever-increasing blank checks for a war with no end in sight.
Morgan Murphy is a former DoD press secretary, national security adviser in the U.S. Senate, a veteran of Afghanistan.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Featured image credit: (Screen Capture/CSPAN)
MxM News
Quick Hit:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has initiated an investigation into the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Hegseth confirmed that investigators have already been selected to examine the disastrous exit, which left 13 U.S. service members dead and stranded Americans behind. He emphasized that accountability is forthcoming and vowed a thorough review to uncover the decision-making failures behind the debacle.
Key Details:
- Hegseth told Breitbart News that he has already chosen investigators for a full Pentagon-led review of the withdrawal.
- The Biden administration’s 2021 exit resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members, abandoned American citizens, and a botched drone strike that killed an Afghan aid worker and his family.
- No officials were held accountable, while Marine Col. Stuart Scheller, who publicly called for accountability, was the only one punished—he now serves in the Trump administration.
Diving Deeper:
Hegseth, in an exclusive interview, stated that the investigation would be comprehensive, focusing on key decision-making failures that led to one of the most disastrous military withdrawals in U.S. history. While no specific timeline was provided, he stressed the importance of getting the facts right.
The 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, executed under then-President Joe Biden, resulted in a chaotic evacuation at Kabul International Airport. The suicide bombing at Abbey Gate claimed the lives of 13 American troops, while the administration abandoned hundreds of U.S. citizens despite claiming success. Additionally, the U.S. military, in a hasty attempt to prevent another attack, launched a drone strike that mistakenly killed an innocent Afghan aid worker and his family. At the time, then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley defended the strike as “righteous.”
Despite these failures, no senior officials were removed from their posts. The only individual who faced consequences was Marine Col. Stuart Scheller, who was discharged after demanding accountability in a viral video. Now, he serves as a senior adviser to the Defense Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness under the 47th President, Donald Trump.
Hegseth reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring accountability, emphasizing the need to establish a factual timeline of events, decisions, and their consequences. “I don’t think there’s anybody that feels like there’s been an honest accounting of what happened in Afghanistan. That’s our job,” he said.
The investigation, he added, will be critical to rebuilding trust within the Defense Department. “We’re going to drive that full investigation and get a sense of what happened. Accountability will be coming,” Hegseth concluded.
conflict
Senior U.S. officials meet with Russians in Saudi Arabia to normalize relations, end Ukraine war
MxM News
Quick Hit:
Senior U.S. officials met with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia for the most extensive discussions between the two nations in years. The Trump administration is pushing for an end to the Ukraine war and the normalization of relations, with economic and energy cooperation also on the agenda.
Key Details:
- U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Riyadh.
- Russian officials are seeking to restore economic ties, including potential returns of American oil companies to Russia.
- Ukraine and European allies are concerned that President Trump could broker a peace deal favoring Russia without consulting Kyiv.
Diving Deeper:
Senior U.S. and Russian officials gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for high-level discussions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine and exploring ways to rebuild diplomatic and economic ties. The meeting marks the most significant engagement between the two nations in at least three years and follows a recent phone call between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which both leaders emphasized the benefits of renewed cooperation.
Leading the U.S. delegation were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. Their Russian counterparts included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, and Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. Discussions centered on peace negotiations in Ukraine and the possibility of American oil companies re-entering the Russian market.
Dmitriev emphasized the economic advantages of resuming business relations with the U.S., noting that American companies had lost an estimated $300 billion due to sanctions and business withdrawals following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He argued that restoring these ties could be mutually beneficial, citing President Trump’s focus on economic success and pragmatic deal-making.
The meeting has sparked concern among European allies and Ukraine, who worry that Trump may push for a settlement favoring Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also in the Gulf region for diplomatic efforts, reaffirmed that Ukraine would reject any peace deal negotiated without its direct involvement.
Despite skepticism from the West, the Trump administration maintains that engagement with Russia is necessary to end the conflict and normalize relations. “If there is going to be the possibility of progress here towards peace, we are going to need to talk to the Russians,” Rubio stated on CBS’s Face the Nation prior to the talks.
Saudi Arabia, which has maintained a neutral stance in the Ukraine conflict, played host to the discussions as part of its broader ambition to position itself as a global diplomatic leader. The Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry emphasized its commitment to fostering peace and security through international dialogue.
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