Europeans Retreat on Defense Spending

From The Wall Street Journal:

The unraveling of Col. Moammar Gadhafi's regime is a milestone for the European armed forces providing the air support that turned the tide for Libyan rebels, who were on the verge of being overrun only five months ago.

Yet despite the scenes from Tripoli of rebel forces advancing with the help of European air strikes, the first North Atlantic Treaty Organization campaign not led by the U.S. has shown the limitations of the Continent's military power in an era of crushing national debt and slashed defense spending.

"The fact is that Europe couldn't have done this on its own," said NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in an interview last month, citing essential U.S. intelligence support. "The lack of defense investments in Europe will make it increasingly difficult for Europe to take on responsibility for international crisis management beyond Europe's borders."

While all 28 NATO nations approved the Libya mission, fewer than half are participating, and fewer still are conducting air strikes. "Frankly, many of those allies sitting on the sidelines do so not because they do not want to participate, but simply because they can't," said Mr. Gates, who stepped down in July. "The military capabilities simply aren't there."

The mounting concerns about Europe's ability to project power overseas come as the world's military balance is shifting. The U.S., the world's dominant power, is under growing pressure to control military spending and is increasing its focus on the Pacific region. At the same time, China is undertaking a military buildup that has left many of its neighbors worried about its global ambitions.

Mr. Gates warned in June that "if current trends in the decline of European defense capabilities are not halted and reversed, future U.S. political leaders—those for whom the Cold War was not the formative experience that it was for me—may not consider the return on America's investment in NATO worth the cost."

Germany, Europe's largest economy, declined to participate in the Libya effort at all, saying that contributing to the air campaign might lead to pressure to contribute troops later.

The Netherlands, like Germany, was one of a handful of countries criticized by Mr. Gates, during a private meeting with NATO defense ministers in June, for not contributing enough to the Libyan effort.