I've said it before and I'll say it again: I still think the 2% of GDP target is at least partially just the American government indirectly subsidizing the American defence industry. It's bullying their NATO allies into buying American guns/planes/trucks/etc.
Food for thought: the US military budget is triple what the rest of NATO spends, combined. The Americans would argue they have to spend this much because the rest of us don't pull our weight, but the amount is still just absolutely ludicrous.
The list of US "enemies" is open to interpretation, but for the sake of discussion let's say it includes China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. Their combined military spending is about $320 billion dollars.
The US alone spends almost two-and-a-half times more ($750 billion).
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