Gates: "Investment in NATO not worth the cost"

I know some on the right were quick to malign Gates as soon as he had his boss changed, but I always viewed him as one of the limited amount of sane and sensible individuals within current administration.

Gates Blasts NATO, Questions Future of Alliance

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"The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress -- and in the American body politic writ large -- to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense," he said.

Without naming names, he blasted allies who are "willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets."

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