summarized from The Daily Standard

They stand there, with their beautiful suits and big words. The leaders of NATO, meeting in The Hague, solemnly declared that “billions” extra will be invested in their military. As if money alone can win their war with Russia. As if an enemy is deterred by a speech.

But in the meantime, reality is merciless: we have no factories, no people, no raw materials. The European defense industry has been cut to pieces, outsourced and hollowed out. And now – when push comes to shove – we stand empty-handed.

Clingendael researchers say Russia makes more weapons than it uses on the battlefield in Ukraine. It builds in three months what takes NATO a year. Why? Because since the 1990s our leaders have preferred to give money to gender-inclusive workshops than to industry. Left-wing parties preferred to subsidize climate policy. Russia has armed itself – and we have closed our factories. The same left-wing ideology that demolished our industry is now corrupting our universities. Hamas glorification, intimidation of Jewish students – and administrators who remain silent. It has to stop.

In the Netherlands it is even more poignant. Our shipyards are on the verge of collapse. Young people are trained in climate psychology and decolonial philosophy, but no one knows how to build a tank, or a bullet. This is the legacy of Rutte, Kaag and the entire political middle class. Leftists now call for higher NATO contributions while they have been hollowing out the military for decades.