>>64084897
>nigga we signed a treaty
Not him, but so did they. European NATO spending was hilariously below the thresholds explicitly outlined by the treaty to the point where some of Europe's economically largest nations were practically defenseless (Germany for example being one of the worst offenders). NATO's goal was never a completely disarmed Europe, and NATO is not the "America's Bitch Defense League". It was always a cooperative joint venture.
>NATO only benefits us, it's soft power.
The idea that having military spending completely covered by a foreign power "only benefits them" (the United States) is silly. It's obviously an extremely beneficial relationship for the Europeans. Europe got de facto defense subsidization by the US, which freed up their budgets for domestic spending. It went to their heads, too. Fuck, I can't tell you how many times I've heard a European youtuber or streamer joke about how much the US spends on it's military, totally ignorant to the fact that the US spending they just joked about exists to defend them.