I don’t think anyone should be surprised by this after all that we saw during the pandemic. This is just another instance of trying to weaponize idiots.

We’ve had multiple presidents get on their soapbox about defense budgets in Europe. One fat orange man in particular. He’s a corrupt idiot but he wasn’t wrong about that. The NATO % GDP benchmark is not onerous. Only military capability will deter some actors as clearly evidenced most recently in Ukraine.

NATO members in general are too comfortable relying too much much on the U.S. defense umbrella. It is something the U.S. has been warning NATO members about for a long time. It’s meant to be a collective defense. What’s happening in Ukraine should be a loud wakeup call.

I’ve had my eye on these for a while. They seem great in non-winter conditions. The only weakness I see is wintertime use. I live in a northern climate with long and sometimes quite harsh winter season.