Nowhere is this more evident than in Germany. While we touched on this briefly yesterday, there are some recent developments in the news coming out of Europe which merit a closer look. Germany has already stated that they have no intention of hitting their required goal of spending 2% of GDP on their military for at least the next decade. In the meantime, their military has fallen into such a state of disarray that they can’t even certify enough pilots because there aren’t enough functional aircraft for them to log their required flight hours. (LA Times)

It’s not just the helicopters and planes. As was previously disclosed, half of their tanks and all but one of their submarines are out of commission. Sadly, Angela Merkel has little motivation to act on these deficiencies with any sense of urgency. As the linked analysis points out, a strong military really isn’t a priority for most of her citizens. In fact, many take their less militaristic stance as a point of pride. Following the horrors of the world wars, generations of Germans have grown up idealizing the concept of a “world without war.”

It’s a beautiful thought, but it ignores one very significant reality. Germany, along with most of the rest of western Europe, was largely able to sit out the cold war and not get dragged into any other conflicts to a significant degree precisely because America was doing all the heavy lifting. Perhaps criticizing the United States and talking about how you may have to back off from this relationship at the precise moment when most of your army’s machinery is up on blocks with the tires having been stolen isn’t the best timing imaginable.

Among the failures: none of Germany’s submarines is operational, only four of its 128 Eurofighter jets are combat-ready and the army is short dozens of tanks and armored vehicles needed for NATO missions.

In addition, troops are short on the basics: body armor, night vision gear and cold-weather clothing.