Even long before the end of the Cold War, Europe has been slashing their military because they say "who is going invade us?" With the rise of rogue nations and terrorism, the threat to modern nations won't be a beachhead landing in Marselle. It will comprise of state-funded terrorism, who's leaders will then deny their involvement. Right after 9/11, Afghanistan tried the tactic, but the US wouldn't bite. Europe is different. They have failed diplomatically with Iran (see previous post) because they don't have the "stuff" to back it up with.
One of the better examples comes from the modern Falklands War. Even back in 1982, when Britian had a larger military, more military spending, and their best prime minister since Winston Churchill, the British operation to retake the Falklands, was rag-tag at best.
Below, are some statics I have complied on the sizes of countries' militaries. Remember that troops numbers are "total" including all branches, reverses, desk clerks unless otherwise mentioned. Some numbers can be conflicting depending on year-to-year, and what source includes. For comparison, I've included the statistics on the NY City police department.
Nonetheless, the "Big Five" : UK, France, Germany, Spain, & Italy, who's total population roughly equals the US, their total spending is approximately 1/3 of the US. The entire EU's GDP is nearly equal to that of the US.
The result of this is a weak Europe, who will find themselves unable to project their influence anywhere. They will be repeatedly disregarded by rogue nations. Even a imbecile can sense fear and weakness.
Britian
212,000 troops overall, 112,000 in Army
$36 billion
Germany [1]
284,000
$28.3 billion
France [2]
259,000 troops
$39.5 billion ($25 billion in 02?)
2.6% of GDP
Italy
200,000 troops
$21.1 billion
1.7% of GDP
Spain
150,000 troops
9.9 billion
Canada
52,000 troops (20,000 army)
$9.8 billion
1.1% of GDP
Sweden
27,000 troops (12,000 active)
4.2 billion
USA
$395 billion dollars
1,427,000 active troops
3.3% of GDP
New York City Police Department
37,210 police officers
$3.4 billion budget
1 comment:
You should show the amount of troops as a percentage of the population. The amount of defense spending should compared against GDP. But no country in Europe is close to the USA. Even if they merged economically, w/out a military no European country (or even the EU as a whole) will be anything more than a second rate power. The EU as a first rate power is a chimaera at best.
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