Defense expert Ko Colijn has been providing the Dutch with insight into armed conflicts for fifty years. This time, he discusses how NATO wastes money, and how, leading up to the NATO summit, the war between Israel and Iran distracts from other conflicts.
The air war between Israel and Iran has diverted attention from other conflicts. This is especially true after the American intervention on Saturday night into Sunday. There is less talk about Gaza, Taiwan, and Greenland, as Tehran and Tel Aviv now dominate the front pages and talk shows. And, of course, we proudly discuss the NATO summit in The Hague.
I do not deny that we have treated the armed forces rather lackadaisically over the past thirty years and that we now have a war in Ukraine that we urgently need to address. However, there are a few caveats to make.
First of all, it is rare for frugal cabinets to quickly turn into big spenders. Successive cabinets have stripped the armed forces bare, and now these same leaders are throwing around billions. As Prime Minister, Mark Rutte personally ordered the dismantling of the tanks, and now, as head of NATO, he is asking for the exact opposite.
Wasting Money
It is rare for customers to be allowed to calculate what they need themselves. But that is what happens in the defense sector. NATO makes the wish list, and The Hague and Brussels say amen.
A leading think tank in London calculated in May that billions less would be needed if the US withdrew from Europe and we had to solve the ‘problem’ of Ukraine ourselves. No one mentioned that analysis. Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans simply adopted the calculation of NATO chief Rutte (16 to 19 billion euros). Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen later said that the price could rise to as much as 25 billion euros.
The Netherlands Court of Audit has long had its doubts about Defense’s spending policy. Just a month ago. The government and Parliament mumbled something about a timetable and left the dirty laundry for the next cabinet. The children paying the price will likely be development aid, benefits, healthcare, and education.
The European NATO members currently spend around 400 billion euros on defense collectively. That is already much more than Russia, which spends around 130 billion euros. A drastic increase would not be necessary if European countries did not waste their money so hopelessly.
The examples are endless: there are more than twenty different helicopters, tanks, and frigates. Tall Dutch cooks cannot stand too low, French-built minehunters. A French admiral complained that Europe had no fewer than fourteen naval shipyards, thus throwing money away. Three is enough. The American NATO ambassador had a point when he noted that waste cost NATO countries around 55 billion euros last year alone.
From 0.03 to 55 billion: this is how much more NATO countries spend on defense
‘No help without paying’ works both ways
The 5 percent demanded by US President Donald Trump was actually just an opening bid. Rutte managed to make it 3.5 percent, plus 1.5 percent for better asphalt. But NATO actually gave in immediately, without negotiating.
Trump, by the way, thinks that the US itself does not have to adhere to that 5 percent, especially not after Saturday night into Sunday. It is clear that the US uses double standards.
I acknowledge that we benefit to some extent from American spending, including their nuclear umbrella. But they now want to get rid of their leadership, so we don’t automatically have to co-pay for, for example, an American adventure in Mexico.
Rutte doesn’t even want to deal with Greenland. A Danish territory that the US has placed under American military command on the eve of the NATO summit in The Hague. Scandalous and offensive.
Ukraine does a lot with little
Another important caveat: we are now buying ships and tanks while we have entered the age of the drone. With Operation Spiderweb, Ukraine showed that you can wage war with drones that cost around 350 euros each. They can destroy Russian Tupolev aircraft in Siberia, which in turn cost millions and can drop atomic bombs.
It is still too early to fully map the consequences of Operation Spiderweb. But the Mossad used exactly the same trick in Iran. As a result, the Israeli secret service was able to disable Iranian air defenses, as well as the missiles that were ready to be fired at Israel.
Trump is going to spend 175 billion dollars on Golden Dome. What does Europe get out of (slightly) contributing to that nonsense? It is an anti-European missile shield because it weakens deterrence and serves purely American interests. No European or Ukrainian security.