Crises Designed to Aggrandize the Lords of War (the Bankers and the Military-industrial Complex:

• David Cameron and Barack Obama urge Nato members to boost spending
• The Prime Minister and US President penned a joint newspaper article today
• UK and US are two of only four countries hitting military spending target
• Major powers France and Germany are failing to hit 2% of GDP target

By Tom Mctague, Mailonline Deputy Political Editor

David Cameron and Barack Obama today demanded other Nato countries start paying their way by drastically increasing military spending.

The Prime Minister and US President penned a joint article attacking other members of the military alliance for not pitching in against the growing threat from Russia and the Middle East.

The pair said Britain and the US were two of only four countries hitting the minimum military spending target.

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Nato is a military alliance in which each state guarantees to come to the defence of any state attacked, but relies heavily on US spending

David Cameron warmly greeted German Chancellor Angela Merkel at today's 2014 NATO Summit in Newport, Wales, but has criticised her commitment to military spending

French President Francois Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, US President Barack Obama, David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi held a meeting on the situation in Ukraine today

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama said other states – notably France and Germany – needed to ‘urgently step up their efforts’ to hit the target.

The United States has by far the biggest military budget in Nato – spending more than four per cent of its GDP on defence.

Out of the remaining 27 Nato members only Britain, Greece and Estonia spend more than two per cent of their national income on defence.

In today’s joint article in The Times, Mr Cameron and the US President wrote: ‘By working together we are stronger, whether in standing up to Russia or confronting Isil.’

 

They added: ‘Britain and America are two of only four Nato members to meet the target of spending two per cent of our GDP on defence and other states must urgently step up their efforts to meet this too.

‘This would send a powerful message to those that threaten us that our collective resolve is as strong as ever. But while a strong security response is essential, we cannot rely on our military strength alone. We must use all the resources at our disposal — military, economic and political.’

The article came after the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon slammed European countries for failing to pay their way.

He said: 'US taxpayers won't go on picking up the cheque if we choose to prioritise social welfare spending when the threats are on our doorstep.'

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