Indeed, if current trends in the decline of European defense capabilities are not halted or reversed, future U.S. political leaders, those for whom the Cold War was not the formative experience that it was for me, may not consider the return on America's investment in NATO worth the cost.
Gates warns about declining European defense capabilities affecting NATO's value to the U.S.
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My staff and I have learned that it was nearly impossible to get accurate information and answers to questions such as, 'How much money did you spend?' and, 'How many people do you have?'
My concern is, we don't have an overriding strategy on the part of the United States in this complex challenge over the next 20 to 30 years.
the only way I could get significant new or additional equipment to commanders in the field in weeks or months--not years--was to take control of the problem myself through special task forces and ad hoc processes.
I think part of the problem is that at the end of the Cold War, we were affected by triumphalism or hubris, whatever you want to call it.
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