Security partnerships

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday, the 20th of June. This is WORLD Radio and we thank you for listening. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. First up on The World and Everything in It: International security.

Yesterday, Russia’s Vladimir Putin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang and the two announced a mutual support agreement.

REICHARD: This comes after last week’s G7 summit when leaders from Western Europe, Canada, and the U.S. met in Italy. During that summit, President Joe Biden signed a ten-year security deal with Ukraine.

BIDEN: Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine's credible defense and deterrence capabilities for the long term.

BROWN: Joining us now to talk about these developments is Will Inboden. He served on the staff of the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, and now teaches at the University of Florida. He’s also a commentator for WORLD Opinions.

REICHARD: Will, good morning!

WILL INBODEN: Morning, Mary. Great to be with you.

REICHARD: Well, let’s start with the G7. Leaders made a deal to loan Ukraine nearly $50 billion, some of that coming from profits on frozen Russian assets. And before that, the U.S. signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine. Will, what do you make of the timing of this Western support? Seems like it could’ve been more effective if it came last year when Ukraine was pushing Russia back on the battlefield.

INBODEN: Yeah, Mary, it's a classic case of better late than never. You know, Ukraine really has suffered from the diminished American and Western support over the last six months. You know, particularly as it's a combination of the Biden administration being too little, too late with the weapons that Ukraine needs, and then the targeted abilities that they need. And then similarly, you know, Congress was, I think, you know, slower than it should have been, in approving the big new aid package. But at the same time, you know, it is better late than never, because there still is a chance for Ukraine to turn around its fortunes on the battlefield. And you know, overall, our European allies in NATO and the G7 have been surprisingly steadfast in their support for Ukraine. You know, again, there's also always more they can do. But considering that things have been worse before, I take some encouragement in the new security partnership that the United States signed and then the renewed G7 support for Ukraine. Unfreezing the Russian assets and delivering them to Ukraine was also a good move that's been long in the making. It took too long to get there, but again, better late than never, since those were ill gotten gains by Russia, and there's a certain amount of justice in that being provided to Ukraine for their economic support.

REICHARD: Well, another development this week is that 23 out of 32 NATO countries are now hitting the mandatory 2% GDP spending on defense.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Russian aggression is the main reason for the uptick, but he also credits Donald Trump for pushing NATO allies to spend more on defense. What does that tell you about America’s role in setting defense policy?

INBODEN: This is encouraging, especially when you look just several years ago, I don't know the exact numbers, but it's something like maybe only five or six NATO countries were meeting the 2% of GDP goal for defense spending. So now the fact that we're up to effectively two thirds of them is encouraging. I do think Stoltenberg is correct that it was primarily driven by the threat from Russia. Right? I mean, that really concentrates the mind when Russian aggressor invades a neighboring European country in Ukraine, and Europeans finally realized the need to increase their own defense spending.

I will say this is a historic concern. I mean, ever since the creation of NATO under Harry Truman, just over 75 years ago, every American president from Truman forward, including Trump, of course, has pressured the Europeans to increase their defense spending. They have a bad pattern of free riding on the American security umbrella. But I will say we shouldn't focus only on the defense spending numbers. Other things matter, such as the quality of their forces, the quality of their training, the quality of their technology, and their willingness to fight. Right? Their willingness to deploy their assets there. And again, we're seeing some improvements on the part of the Europeans in that respect as well.

So the trend lines are favorable, and certainly former President Trump deserves some credit for having perhaps accelerated the American pressure on the Europeans.

REICHARD: Over to North Korea now. We’re still waiting for the exact language between Russia’s and North Korea’s pact, but from what they’ve announced, it sounds like they are promising to support each other against “aggression.” What could that mean for the war in Ukraine?

INBODEN: Yeah, this is a worrisome development, this, these renewed ties between Russia and North Korea. I've written elsewhere, I've called this the new Eurasian belt of tyranny, because you've got this new partnership between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, all united around a common hatred of the United States and Western values. And also united around mutual military support for each other. They're sharing defense technology. North Korea is helping resupply Russian ammunition and munitions for its artillery, especially. Russia is now providing North Korea more guidance technology for its satellites and its missiles, including some nuclear missiles which can hit the United States.

So this is, this is worrisome. It's a crafty move by Putin, but it also shows how the threats that we face are interconnected. And it also, you know, bodes poorly for Ukraine, because it shows when countries like North Korea or Iran, you know, the terror sponsoring state, which is providing drones to Russia to use against Ukraine, North Korea and Iran now, you know, see a benefit in bringing harm to Ukraine.

REICHARD: You recently returned from a trip to Europe. Are there any other developments in the region you’re keeping an eye on?

INBODEN: Well, I think one of my main takeaways from just having returned from Europe, and also, as we see the report on the G7 Summit, is, you know, there's some good news to share. Like I said, as far as some of this new European commitment to defense spending and some sense of common western values to stand against the tyranny and aggression we're facing from these different dictatorships. But I also felt a certain sadness and worry over just the weakness of Western leaders right now. Right. You look at the G7 leaders there, you know, Justin Trudeau from Canada; Joe Biden from the United States; Rishi Sunak from Great Britain, who's probably on his way out soon; Schultz in Germany, who's got very low approval ratings—They're not a very inspiring bunch, right? They are not very well liked by their own publics. A lot of them are having very difficult re-election challenges, and it's just a real contrast to, if you will, the heyday of the G7 in the 1980s when you had leaders like Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher, and Nakasone in Japan, and Brian Mulroney in Canada. These were leaders who are really committed to Western values, to the strength of the Western alliance, and played a key role in winning the Cold War. And we just don't have those, those leaders on the stage today. You know, the one bright spot is Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, actually. You know, she's courageously pro-life. She's committed to Western values. She's a little more charismatic than some of the others. So it's a it's a curious turn of events indeed, when Italy is providing the leadership at the Western alliance so desperately needs and the other leaders are so lacking.

REICHARD: Will Inboden, professor at the University of Florida and commentator for WORLD Opinions. Will, thanks again!

INBODEN: Thank you, Mary.

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