Readers React: Life is less comfortable under America’s defense umbrella

To the editor: While Bruce Ackerman makes a fair point in calling for the European Union to assume far more responsibility for the continent’s security, he overstates Washington’s pivot to Asia while failing to make equal demands of our Asian and Middle East allies to assume greater responsibility for their defense. (“Europe needs to provide for its own defense,” Op-Ed, Sept. 8)

Ackerman claims the pivot “will include a massive shift of military resources to the Pacific.” Hardly. Plans call for increasing our naval forces in the Pacific to 60% from roughly 55% of a total fleet that will be declining in numbers.

Nor are there plans to move large numbers of troops to Asia. At the same time, some of our East Asian friends could devote more resources to defending themselves. While the U.S. devotes 3.8% of its GDP to defense, Japan spends 0.8%, the Philippines 0.9%, South Korea 2.6%, Taiwan 2.7% and Vietnam 2.5%. If China is the great bugaboo these countries claim, one would expect a far greater commitment.

In the Middle East, Ackerman writes that the United States is “overcommitted.” It would be better said that our Middle East “allies” are under-committed. Turkey allocates 2.3% of GDP to defense, Jordan 3.6% and Lebanon 4.4%. Saudi Arabia’s nearly 9% is more papier-mache than empowerment.

This meekness banks on Uncle Sam being there to do the heavy lifting protecting their interests. As in Europe, it is time to put this expectation to rest.

Bennett Ramberg, Los Angeles

The writer served as a policy analyst in the State Department’s Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs in the George H.W. Bush administration.

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To the editor: Only the oldest Europeans can remember when their governments shouldered the full burden of national defense. For everyone else, life under the protective wing of the United States seems only natural, and so does the generous social welfare spending our protection makes possible.

Expect much of Europe to trade butter for guns when the Russian army is at their door, and no sooner.

Michael Smith, Cynthiana, Ky.

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