{"id":39709,"date":"2019-02-13T20:56:46","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T20:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/13\/macedonia-is-set-to-join-nato-an-alliance-that-cant-fight\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:09:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:09:46","slug":"macedonia-is-set-to-join-nato-an-alliance-that-cant-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2019\/02\/13\/macedonia-is-set-to-join-nato-an-alliance-that-cant-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Macedonia is set to join NATO \u2014 an alliance that can\u2019t fight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

And then there were 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Feb. 6, Macedonia signed an accession agreement with NATO, paving its way to join the alliance<\/a> next year. The country will be renamed \u201cNorth Macedonia\u201d to appease the Greeks. Despite predictable cheers from the U.S. media and foreign policy elites, the addition of another tiny Balkan country to NATO only highlights a clear reality: NATO is making itself irrelevant by becoming an alliance that can\u2019t fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany, once NATO\u2019s front line against the Soviets, is the most glaring example. Over the last 25 years, the Germans have chosen to become militarily impotent. On average, just 39 of Germany\u2019s 128 Eurofighter Typhoons<\/a>, the Luftwaffe\u2019s best fighter plane, were available for service in 2017. Barely a quarter of its older Tornados are serviceable. Maybe this horrible maintenance record is a secondary concern, though: Der Spiegel reported that Germany only had enough missiles for four<\/a> of the Typhoons to engage in combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German military is currently short a staggering 21,000<\/a> officers and noncommissioned officers. Even Germany\u2019s elite KSK special operations troops have earned more of a reputation<\/a> for their beer than their battles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britain is often touted as the exception to European security fecklessness. The United Kingdom maintains its own nuclear deterrent, contributed troops to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and (barely) clears the arbitrary 2 percent threshold of defense spending based on its gross domestic product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, post-financial crisis austerity measures have slashed British forces to the bone. The U.K.\u2019s former chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Nick Houghton, warned that \u201cU.S. observers have come to realize we are living a lie<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO\u2019s smaller members are in even worse shape. Belgium, home to NATO\u2019s new $1.4 billion headquarters<\/a>, stands out as the alliance\u2019s premier free rider<\/a>. With the notable exception of Poland, most of the former Warsaw Pact members provide little<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macedonia will fit right in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macedonia spent $111.8 million on defense in 2017. At 1 percent of GDP, its commitment to defense that year is slightly better than Belgium\u2019s. Small, poor, landlocked Macedonia clearly cannot offer more than a symbolic contribution to NATO\u2019s collective defense. No one serious pretends that it can \u2014 Macedonia is really joining NATO to burnish its case for European Union membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\t