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Europe’s pacifism undermining NATO

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Europe’s growing aversion to military force means the NATO alliance is facing a crisis.

Addressing NATO officers at the National Defense University in Washington on Tuesday, Gates said that European countries’ chronically low defense spending is damaging operations in Afghanistan.

“Right now, the alliance faces very serious, long-term, systemic problems,” the US defense secretary said in a blunt message.

He went on to say that public and political opposition to the military has grown so great in Europe that it is directly affecting operations in Afghanistan.

And European countries have failed to invest in weapons and equipment for years, Gates added.

He also warned that NATO’s budget shortfall was a symptom of what he called deeper problems.

For years NATO has needed more cargo aircraft and helicopters of all types, he noted.

Gates also said that the demilitarization of Europe is impeding the achievement of lasting peace in the twenty-first century.

His remarks come as NATO officials are drafting a new strategic vision for the military alliance.

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