For the love of God, don’t ever reach three!
All parents instinctively understand the rules of the game. It wasn’t something Dr. Spock (who wasn’t even Vulcan) taught us. It goes like this:
Advertisement
“You better go to your room! I’m gonna count to three!”
[Little kid giggles in the hallway]
“One!”
[More giggling]
“Two!”
[Shuffling of feet]
“Two… AND A HALF!”
[Still don’t hear the bedroom door open]
“Two… AND THREE QUARTERS!”
[Nope. Still not in his bedroom.]
“Two… and, uh, FOUR FIFTHS!”
[Finally, the bedroom door opens and closes.]
“…oh, thank the Lord.”
Look, I’ll be honest: I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when/if my kid ever reaches three. (But the upside is, at least I got to teach my kids about fractions.)
Some threats stop working once someone calls your bluff.
And this brings us to the EU war summit in Brussels. Our old pal Volodymyr Zelensky is there (in his finest sweatsuit), and the topic of Ukraine — and/or the renewed militarization of Europe — is on the hot burner.
That’s because the dirty little secret of the Russia-Ukraine war is that Europe wasn’t playing to win. Not really. Instead, they’d offer performative support (and complain constantly) while waiting for Uncle Sam to do all the heavy lifting. But their actions — and their wallets — didn’t match their rhetoric.
As we reported weeks ago, Europe still sends more money to Russia than to Ukraine:
Western Europe is, very literally, “trading blood for oil” by turning a blind eye to Russian aggression and human rights abuses in a self-serving attempt to import cheap Russian oil and gas. They want to give Russia BILLIONS for (cheap) oil and then demand America spend BILLIONS to arm Ukraine.
From Europe’s point of view, it’s a wonderful arrangement: Russia is being squeezed economically, so it’s selling oil and gas for pennies. And then, when Russia takes their money to buy more weapons, good old Uncle Sam is there to spend even more money to arm Ukraine. That’s realpolitik writ large.
It’s also one helluva gravy train.
Advertisement
Our EU “allies” bought €21.9bn (£18.1bn) of Russian oil and gas last year. They then gave €18.7bn of aid to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia really is playing to win: The Kremlin spent a staggering 6.7% of its GDP on defense last year. Yet NATO “countries” like Canada don’t even spend 1.4%.
But compared to Europe, the Canadians are practically a “nation” of Rambo’s: Over 10 European countries spend 1% or less on defense — including wealthy countries like Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland.
Despite having a far larger population, economy, and financial resources, Europe spent a combined total of $457 billion on its military. The Kremlin spent $461.6 billion!
The EU diplomats were down, but not out. They had one last card to play: They threatened to count to three.
Related: ‘Coalition of the Willing’: It’s the Iraq War All Over Again!
At this point, it’s pretty clear that EU leaders and Democratic Party enablers got in Zelenskyy’s ear and coached him to draw a “line in the sand” about an American security guarantee:
Just finished a meeting with President Zelensky here in Washington. He confirmed that the Ukrainian people will not support a fake peace agreement where Putin gets everything he wants and there are no security arrangements for Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/eaCePJ4UZr
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 28, 2025
Advertisement
Trump called their bluff. He threw Zelensky out on the seat of his sweatpants — and suddenly, the EU was staring down the barrel of a self-created [EXPLETIVE] show.
So today, the lions of Europe are meeting in Brussels, plotting their next move. And at least one European diplomat is sounding an awful lot like the little kid who shouts at his parents, “I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU WERE DEAD!”
The sub-header in the Politico story said it all: “Waiting until Trump is dead”
“Defense spending is becoming a fixed cost,” a European diplomat said. “We have switched off the sun and now we need to pay everyday for the heating … Every day you need to pay for ammunition, at least for several years, until Trump is dead.”
In fairness to the EU, it’s not a terrible strategy. American foreign policy is awfully schizophrenic these days, and eventually, the Democratic Party will return to power. It’s just a matter of when. And when that day comes, Europe can go back to the good ol’ days, when Uncle Sam funded everything.
But until then, the EU is in a vise. Their bluff was called, and they’re gonna have to step up to the plate — and at least in the short-term — and stop profiteering from both sides. It’s one helluva wake-up call for the continent and sets the stage for the emergence of a new European order.
Advertisement
Because the good ol’ days are probably gone for good.
The EU is entering a cocoon. Whatever emerges, the caterpillar is gone forever. And they’re just starting to realize it:
“Given these profound shifts in U.S. policy, and the existential threat of another war on the continent, Europe must manage its essential defence tasks,” the European Policy Center think tank said in a commentary.
Very true. And for starters, Europe could use far fewer “think tanks” — and a lot more real ones.
