The U.S. military is still widely regarded as the strongest in the world, but the rest of the world appears to be taking advantage of that. Whether its providing billions of dollars and F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, selling nuclear submarines to Australia, pledging our nuclear arsenal to back South Korea, or sending U.S. troops to protect NATO countries, Uncle Sam is stretched further and further across the globe. "The United States is spending more money, more time, more energy pouring finite American resources into the defense of other countries," says Grant Golub, professor of American History at the U.S. Army War College.
Golub calls out American allies for their overreliance on the U.S. at a time when we face growing threats to our own national security at home and abroad. "We're actually ramping up our own defense spending, ramping up our own military industrial complex...not in order to provide for our own American defense, but for the defense of our wealthy allies," he tells KTRH.
"I'm talking about countries like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, wealthy countries with historically robust military postures," Golub continues. "We're spending money shoring up their defense capabilities, and that means ours are not as strong here at home."
Former President Donald Trump addressed this issue while he was in office, bluntly threatening to pull U.S. support from NATO allies who aren't paying their fair share on defense. That resulted in some nations increasing their defense output, but many have since cut back again. Golub says this issue has been around for decades, and no U.S. president has been able to solve it. "It's a difficult discussion, but the fact of the matter is it needs to be had," he says. "Other rich countries need to be investing more in their own defense, and need to stop free-riding off of the United States."