North American Treaty Organization (NATO)

"He came, he saw, he conquered."
"Contrary to criticism and fears, Trump's brutally sincere behaviour has not broken NATO's unity but has mobilized its members to further action that strengthened the organization."
Poland's state-operated broadcaster TVP

"Yesterday I let them know that I was extremely unhappy with what was happening [in NATO members' dedication to to observing their promises to maintaining a robust national military]."
"They have substantially upped their commitment and now we're very happy and have a very, very powerful, very, very strong NATO."
"Well, they [Canada, Germany and Italy] will [honour their commitment to the 2 percent target]. I have no doubt about it. They all made commitments and they will be up to two percent. It will be over a relatively short period of years."
"I can tell you that NATO now is a really fine-tuned machine. People are paying money that they never paid before. They're happy to do it. And the United States is being treated much more fairly."
U.S. President Donald J. Trump, post-NATO summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses Russian lawmakers, regional governors and other high-ranking officials, in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2018.

It's a strange thing how leaders' minds work. Those who pursue a 'progressive' agenda feel entitled to assume that other nations are willing to sacrifice their own national GDP to meet their targets, so they needn't themselves bother. Wealthy countries like Germany as an example, opening their borders to a mind-gasping number of economic migrants, prepared to fund the enterprise which takes social welfare spending away from their own citizens to succour those from abroad seeking a better life. To Germany which has chosen its priorities, the role of NATO remains sacred in its defence of its members, but not that sacred that they must expend funds in fair support of NATO's defence capabilities.

And then there's Canada, another fairly wealthy Western democracy which under the current Liberal government of Justin Trudeau -- but certainly not confined to his administration -- which enjoys circumlocution and obfuscation,  preferring to state ad nauseum that good intentions and using whatever resources it does have with great economy and efficiency supports NATO just as much as the pledge fulfilled to fund adequate defence, shoring up its deficient military resources in the interests of meeting committed NATO targets. Canada, the ultimate "free rider".

"We'll be more secure when every NATO member including Canada, contributes its full share to our common security. Because the Canadian Armed Forces are really good ... the world needs more Canada. NATO needs more Canada. We need you", politely cajoled former U.S. President Barack Obama in an address to Parliament in Ottawa, before leaving the presidency. Applause was long and loud at President Obama's diplomatically polite cajolery, but brashly outspoken criticism from much-vilified current President Trump is decried as insulting to a scofflaw neighbour.

NATO's purpose was meant originally to counteract and protect against the obvious military ambitions of the former Soviet Union, a powerful adversary, with the armed forces and military equipment available to it of all its satellite countries' unified involvement in imposing its determined will on democratic nations of the world which reviled Communism and its human rights abuses and failures. The world sighed with relief when the Iron Curtain fell and Russia was left, hard put to pull itself together.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall © Grigoriy Sisoev / Sputnik

Under Vladimir Putin -- even with a strained economy, the democratic world's sanctions as punishment for invading Ukraine and lifting the Crimea out of Ukraine -- the urge of upsmanship and military gaming continues on with impunity; helping Syrian's bloody dictator spill sectarian blood and hints at the power of its nuclear arsenal. Its hobbled economy hasn't stopped Moscow from massive investments in space-age nuclear military technology, showcased with aplomb by Putin to ensure the world knows exactly who is in the ascendancy.

"...At the end of 2017, no submarines and none of the air force's 14 large transport planes were available for deployment due to repairs."
"...A Defence Ministry paper revealed German soldiers did not have enough protective vests, winter clothing or tents to adequately take part in a major NATO mission..."
German Parliamentary investigation

About 60 percent of Germany's Eurofighter and Tornado fighter jets and roughly 80 percent of its Sea Lynx helicopters are unusable, according to a study by McKinsey & Company. Germany spends 1.24 percent of its gross domestic product on defence, representing the bottom half of NATO allies' expenditures on defence, irrespective of their universal pledge. Instead of spending the $28 billion on defence to bring it up to speed annually, billions is being sent to Russia in support of a new pipeline to pipe Russian natural gas to Germany.

NATO, headquartered in Belgium, sees that country spending 0.9 percent of GDP on defence. Of the 1.8 million troops European NATO relies upon, less than a third of that number is deployable, and of that number, six percent for any sustained period of deployment. Little wonder that NATO, despite the irascibility and unreliability of its weak-link member Turkey, which is moving ever closer in military alliance to Russia, still values its presence as a NATO member, with the second largest military in the alliance.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin shake hands at the G20 summit in Germany in July. The pair have grown closer after being criticised by the West ( AFP/Getty Images )

Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy nearly £2bn worth of anti-aircraft missiles