NATO would be better off urgently rebuilding military forces capable of deterring threats with or without US support

It is clearly bad for NATO security that the potential next president of the United States has said he would encourage attacks on allies that fail to meet a core defence spending target. But it is surely as much – or even greater – a challenge for the alliance that two-thirds of its 31 member states still have not increased the amount of national income dedicated to defence to a minimum of 2% (and experts deem that level to be woefully inadequate). This is despite Russia’s war in Ukraine, Iran-linked conflict in the Middle East and the risk posed by…