Hillbilly wisdom: under the guidance of President Trump NATO has expanded their defensive budgets. This is a double-edged sword. There are repercussions. The United States’ reduced role in the active defense could save money for the United States. For the other NATO members to take up the slack, they will need to build or buy more weapons.

The United States Corporations could see an increase in sales; other munitions and weapons manufacturers could get the sales; or the NATO countries will increase their manufacturing capacity and an arms race drains the economies of the world. The United States benefits in the first case but not necessarily in the last two.

The caveat is the United States could be viewed as less dependable, that they cannot be counted on for the level of support enjoyed since the inception of NATO (August 24, 1949) thereby reducing the effectiveness of NATO. NATO originally had twelve members. The organization has grown to 32 members. Article 5 has been invoked one time. The United States called upon NATO following 9-11 and NATO responded. If NATO can defend their borders, will it be possible for the American bases to withdraw from the region? Each time the United States has withdrawn from campaigns, it has been expensive.