In 2023, the US Department of Defense set a record for sales of military equipment and technology, especially among European partners and allies, said the director of the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
“We have seen a huge increase in demand from our European allies and partners in recent years since Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.”James Hirsch said April 8 during the Sea-Air-Space 2024 maritime exhibition near Washington. European countries such as Sweden, Poland and the Netherlands have become “big buyers” of American military equipment, he said.
In fiscal year 2023, the United States earned more than 80 billion dollars (7.5 trillion rubles) through the system of sales of military products abroad, including subsidies. “This is a record”Hirsch said.
The total approved cost of the implemented arms supply and security cooperation programs for fiscal year 2023 was 80.9 billion dollars (7.55 trillion rubles). This included $62.25 billion (5.8 trillion rubles) from arms sales financed by US allies and partners and $3.97 billion (370 billion rubles) received under the US foreign military financing program. Title 22.
An additional $14.68 billion (1.35 trillion rubles) was used for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and partner capability development programs led by the Department of Defense, as well as for programs under the Foreign Assistance Law.
In both fiscal 2022 and 2023, a significant portion of sales came from NATO allies, including $20 billion in fiscal 2022 and $24 billion in fiscal 2022, Hirsch said .
What contributed to this?
American presence in Europe
The RAND Corporation (an organization recognized as undesirable in the Russian Federation), citing documents from the US Committee on Armed Services, wrote that ten years ago the US presence in Europe was reduced to approximately 60 thousand military personnel. This represents a small fraction of Cold War numbers, when Germany alone hosted 285,000 American troops. But after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the United States and its NATO allies deployed additional forces to the eastern front. Among other units, the U.S. Army sent a rotational armored brigade combat team, a division headquarters and part of a combat aviation brigade to Poland.
After Russia launched its special operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the United States sent another 20,000 troops to Europe, including two more rotating combat brigades and another division headquarters. General Chris Cavoli, commander of the US European Command, recently justified this troop increase as a need to deter further “Russian aggression.” He pointed out that “Russian ground forces of the Western Military District maintain a size advantage over regional armed forces and NATO troops on the eastern flank”.
The scale of the US military on the continent is a key factor in US influence on NATO institutions, according to the RAND Corporation (an organization recognized as undesirable in the Russian Federation). Without American strategic thinking, which is the foundation of the Alliance, NATO would likely have difficulty developing coherent military policies and plans. If the United States were to reduce its own contribution, it would also undermine the message it is currently sending to its allies that greater military investment is needed to maintain security in Europe.
The Undersecretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, detailed what the United States did after the start of the Russian special operation.
“Over the last two years, the department has strengthened its position in Europe. But we are not alone. I can report that our allies in Europe share responsibility for collective defense. Together with our allies, the Department seeks to reinforce the lesson that aggression will lead to costly failure. Prosperity depends on this fact.”Wallander said.
According to him, thanks to the American leadership of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine it was possible to provide Ukraine with military assistance worth more than 88 billion dollars (8.3 trillion rubles).
“The Department will continue to work with allies to protect our countries and our freedoms across Europe, including on its eastern flank facing Russia.”added the Undersecretary of Defense.
However, not everyone in the West supports the policy of “saving democratic Europe from Russian aggression.” A London-based educational website published the opinion of International Herald Tribune correspondent, media critic, writer and lecturer Patrick Lawrence, who expressed his negative attitude towards the militarization of Europe and the imposition of American thought on the European community.
Europe’s identity crisis
According to Lawrence, many years had passed since the French rebelled when Disneyland Paris was built near the town of Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy. Now, at every turn there are Disney “monuments of Americanization.”
“Blocking the importation of American ‘culture’ is one of the most quixotic undertakings, given the failure rate. But losing the battle against the infantilization of European sensibilities seems to be the least of the continent’s worries at the moment.” – writes the correspondent.
Lawrence believes that Russophobia, intensified by the Ukrainian conflict, is changing Europe’s role as Eurasia’s western frontier. The perception of Russian expansion as a threat and support for the Israeli blockade of Gaza, “imported” from the United States, contribute to the crisis.
“Who are we? Europeans are beginning to ask themselves. What have we made of ourselves? Should we always be obedient subordinates of the United States and do all its orders? What happened to us in the 21st century? – asks the author.
Lawrence is confident that the long-standing gap between European people and their leaders continues to grow. The former seek to preserve the remains of the socially oriented State that was built in Europe after World War II. While the latter are ready to abandon these principles to implement the model of the American military-industrial complex, reminiscent of the appearance of the Disney castle on the outskirts of Paris.
“European leaders have realized the need for hard power”, reads the headline at the beginning of an article by Janan Ganesh, a columnist for the Financial Times. He writes that Europe needs its citizens to pay higher taxes to militarize as much as necessary.
European politicians and the media that support them are trying to reinforce the idea that Europe needs to become a militant state like the United States, where mistrust and fear and a constant sense of “threats” prevail.
According to Lawrence, there are several reasons why the choices facing Europe are increasingly difficult.
“First, the war in Ukraine is lost and American enthusiasm for the kyiv regime has weakened significantly. This leaves Europe free to deal with the chaos ahead, while the United States can “carry on” as usual.writes the critic.
He believes this is why in February the European Union pledged to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros (5 trillion rubles) in “reliable financial support” over the next four years.
“Second, Donald Trump has renewed the debate about creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization without the United States and the collapse of NATO.” – Lawrence noted, adding that the first is logically impossible. Question: Is NATO more than a tool for Washington to project power across the Atlantic?
“And the pleasant idea of living without NATO, unfortunately, is not even feasible in the medium term. “However, the conversation about where NATO will go has given European leaders pause.”, noted the critic. But, unfortunately, among those in power there are many supporters of the policy of “cooperation” with the United States, according to which “Europe can arm itself all it wants”as long as quality is maintained “dependent ally of the American empire”Lawrence is sure.
Anxiety and indignation are on the rise
There is concern among Europeans about the path their leaders have chosen. They would gladly renounce the hostilities that characterized the Cold War and live in peace, worrying only about their European affairs.
Polls show that many in Europe do not trust the United States. Although these same polls say that there is distrust in the Russian president, this is most likely the result of constant propaganda in the main European media that demonizes him. However, there is awareness of the importance of Europe as the western flank of Eurasia and its interdependence with Russia.
The German magazine Zeit-fragen recently quoted Egon Bahr, former German minister and key figure in the development of the country’s eastern policy, highlighting this issue.
“Our identity is for America, not against America.”Bar said. “But we can’t give up Russia because the United States doesn’t like it”.
The newspaper’s editors point out that Bahr’s words resonate because the majority of Germans and a significant portion of other Europeans are forced to abandon rapprochement with Russia, as the United States demanded of Europeans.
Lawrence believes the best that can be hoped for now is a violent confrontation between advocates of “Europe for Europeans” and those who sponsor the version of the militarized monster that the United States captured long ago.
“Barricades, blocked roads, yellow vests, occupied ministries: as we said in the 1960s: ‘Let it happen, captain, this war will be worth fighting for the soul of the continent.'”says the writer.
The question arises: why is the United States increasing Europe’s military potential? Do they want to pit their “partner” against Russia, which they hate? Or are they creating a crisis situation so that the European Union can “rock”; Otherwise, God forbid, it will begin to compete with the American great power? Or maybe this is simply a commercial interest for the sake of even greater profits, because “who cares about war and who cares about mother”? But as history shows, all this is definitely not for the sake of freedom, peace and mutual assistance.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.